I haven't quite fully climbed on the audiobook bandwagon. An iPod or iPhone with earbuds isn't the same as holding a book and turning the pages. But, on a recent family trip when I knew I would need some distraction from the other occupants of the vehicle, I relented and downloaded my first audiobook, Life of Pi.
I listened to it mostly while walking on the treadmill and the track. I found I really enjoyed the reader's voice (Jeff Woodman). He did a very good Indian accent, changing his voice subtly but necessarily noticeably for each character. It was almost like being a child and listening to my mom reading a book to me; I had no trouble seeing the action in my mind. I was forced to pay mental attention to something in a way that I hadn't had to in a long time, so it was very good exercise for my brain. I listened to the Unabridged version - somehow that is almost like blasphemy to even considering not listening to the full version of any book!
I think for my first true audiobook experience, the choice was a very good one. However, the hardest part for me was that the prose of the book, the words Woodman was reading to me and penned by Yann Martel, was so beautiful and poignant that I often wanted to hold the book in my hands so I could underline a sentence or phrase because it was worth remembering or just plain lovely.
The movie had come out long before I got the audiobook; remember I'm the book reader/movie watcher who often comes late to the party. I went to see the movie with my Dear Husband at a watch-a-movie-eat-a-meal kind of theater. As the movie began, I was expecting Woodman's voice to be Pi's, but, of course, that was not the case, a little unexpected hazard of listening to the book instead of reading it. As the movie progressed, it did not follow the action of the book, but to be fair, it did come relatively close. I wish it would have followed exactly but that almost never happens and you'd think I would give up that expectation. It showed the zebra with the broken leg in the boat, and Orange Juice floating on the bananas rescued by Pi. It showed the awful hyena. The film seemed to capture many of the highlights of the book. However, the scene with Richard Parker and the goat at the zoo was very different between the two. The movie showed Pi drifting under the water actually watching the ship sink - not in the book, despite it's stunning visual effect.
The movie was nominated for 11 Academy Awards. It won four, one of which was for Best Achievement in Visual Effects. This movie absolutely deserved this award. It was a feast for the eyes: beautiful colors, sunsets, sunrises, night skies, cloudy skies, sea creatures, storms. Richard Parker was the most beautiful movie tiger I have ever seen. The flying fish were incredibly realistic. This was one of the most visually appealing movies I have seen in a long time.
Read or listen to the book and watch the movie!
