The Story Truth

Having just come from The Things They Carried I felt a sense of release and freedom. A palpable lightening of my soul as though the novel itself was something that I was carrying. With this new-found liberty I began Life of Pi, eager for a book that would uplift rather than depress. However reading it again I was happy to find that this book has even more richness on the second go around. A depth that I wasn’t paying attention to when I first read the book. This was augmented by the Author’s note, which I had merely skimmed. I must say that I loved the author’s note, in fact I believe I would have noticed more of the literary aspects of this book had I originally delved into it.
Unlike The Things They Carried Yann Martel inserting himself into the narrative did not frustrate me, in fact it lent an air of legitimacy to the story. Those were some of my favorite parts of the book, when Martel is at home with Pi. I love the beginning story of how the book came about, and whether I not it is true I hope it is. One of the things I brought away from O’Brien’s book was that story truth can be more important than happening truth. In the end, I don’t care whether or not Martel’s beginning story is story truth or happening truth. It’s beautiful and it brings the very beginning to life because you care what the author has to say because you come to believe in the author.