'Life of Pi' and muttering

I haven't been writing much lately - and hardly at all here on the blog.

I've had a lot of hours at work, and been busy with other, secretive things and applying to University.

I just recieved official confirmation of my application through the post. With any luck, and a successful interview, and a succefful application for a loan, I will be studying English and Creative Writing in September!

Assuming I will get in... I've ordered a stack of books, so I can be a little more 'well-read' by the time it starts. There are some classics in there, some modern hits that I think I 'ought' to have read, and some that randomly took my fancy (and some indulgences, i.e. Mass Effect.)

I want to get a good chunk of them read before the end of summer. I'm picturing a summer of working hard, saving money, and reading in parks, beneath trees! I even bought a nice cushion so I can read in bed. That's commitment!

Anyway, this is a huge deal for me. Finally getting a worthwhile occupation (well, kind of?) and in three years a good qualification. And it's in a subject I really, completely love, so I think these three years will be a lot of fun. I will post updates to this.

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Also I just finished reading 'Life of Pi' by Yann Martel. It won the Booker Prize in 2003, and came highly recommended by a friend, who I've often disagreed with in the past. But I absolutely loved it.

It is, essentially, an ordinary castaway story, focusing on one single character. But that character is so beautifully written and realistic and so interesting to read, and there is a unique spin on the story in the form of a Royal Begal tiger (and a giraffe and a hyena, and an orangutan) that share the lifeboat with him. And there are some surprises at the end... well I certainly didn't see them coming... which are just wonderful. I read the last few chapters with my mouth wide open, willing my brain to process the words faster so I could find out more.

There isn't a great deal of plot here - it's a book about Pi himself, and more quietly about religious faith vs scientific 'reason'. I love character studies, and well-rounded, deep, interesting voices. This is full of that. And the deepening layers of fictional 'narration' passing themselves of as fact work to suck you in and make you believe in Pi all the more.

Here is a wonderful passage from the book:

I can well imagine an atheist's last words: "White, white! L-L-Love! My God!" - and the deathbed leap of faith. Whereas the agnostic, if he stays true to his reasonable self, if he stays beholden to dry, yeastless factuality, might try to explain the warm light bathing him by saying, "Possibly a f-f-failing oxygenation of the b-b-brain," and to the very end, lack imagination and miss the better story.