Happiest of Fridays to you, dear readers! I hope everyone made it through the week in one piece… It was particularly grueling on my end, but exhaustion will not stop me from pairing a piece of literature with a glass of alcohol! Let’s get right to it, shall we?
Yann Martel’s Life of Pi is this week’s pick; a story that is as vivid as it is unique, with a cast of unforgettable characters. (Also, Ang Lee filmed a beautiful adaptation of it, but as always, the book is better.) Having only been published in 2001 Life of Pi is a fairly new addition to the literary canon, but it has arguably claimed it’s place already.
Life of Pi follows the life of Piscine “Pi” Molitar Patel. Growing up in Pondicherry, India, where his father runs a zoo, Pi is an intelligent and curious boy. During his childhood he discovers a love of Hinduism, Catholicism, and Islam, practicing each faith with devotion. His life changes when his father sells the zoo and relocates the family to Canada. The bulk of the narrative occurs after the cargo ship Pi’s family is on sinks. He survives the wreck and ends up sharing a lifeboat with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan, and a 450 pound bengal tiger named Richard Parker. I’ll end the summary there for those of you who have yet to read it… Needless to say, things get pretty interesting from this point forward.
I’ll leave it to you to read, my dears. But, now, on to the main event! What to pair with this enticing story of survival and humanity? Given that Pi is stranded in a lifeboat for 227 days the first option is to drink whatever drink you would most crave in that kind of situation. So, what is your stranded island drink? I’d stay away from Margaritas, personally. (Surrounded by all that salt water, y’know?)
Option number two is a rather delectable Indian drink called Somrus. Unfortunately, it’s only available in a few states in the US (Florida, being one of them… Yay!). It’s described as creamy, floral, and nutty, and sounds like exactly the kind of comforting, happiness-inducing drink I’d choose after spending the better part of a year with a tiger…
Well, anyway, enjoy! And don’t forget to join us for another edition of Shakespeare Saturday tomorrow!
-A
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Get the book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0156027321/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1452918446&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=the+life+of+pi
Get the booze: http://www.somrus.com/welcome.php