Life of Pi
by Yann Martel
★ Top 5 book of 2000 · #5 on Best Books of 2000
After a cargo ship goes down in the Pacific, a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi finds himself in a lone lifeboat with a hyena, a zebra, an orang-utan and a huge Bengal tiger. It is an unusual survival story.
Best for: Readers drawn to unusual survival stories and imaginative, boundary-pushing fiction
Life of Pi is #5 on BookWard's Best Books of 2000, out of 45 2000 books that cleared our data bar.
What Life of Pi is about
A cargo ship goes down in the Pacific, and only one lifeboat stays afloat. Among those aboard is Pi, a sixteen-year-old boy. A hyena, a zebra with a broken leg and a female orang-utan share the boat with him, along with a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. What follows is a story of survival at sea, told with a philosophical turn and a sense of wonder. Yann Martel's 2000 novel also weighs faith, the way we tell stories, and the uneasy bond between humans and animals. Readers who like adventure with something to think about afterward will find plenty here.
Life of Pi on the Best Books of 2000
Life of Pi came out in 2000. Of the 45 books first published in 2000 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #5 on our Best Books of 2000 list.
Why it made the list: 1,140 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.9 out of 5 (154 ratings); 60 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2000 list
- Because of Winn-Dixie Kate DiCamillo, #3
- The Gruffalo Julia Donaldson, #4
- Esperanza Rising Pam Muñoz Ryan, #6
- Rich Dad's Guide to Investing Robert T. Kiyosaki, #7
See all Best Books of 2000 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 1999 Best Books of 2001.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 868 want to read it, 60 are reading it now and 212 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 3.9 out of 5 from 154 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 91 | 55% |
| Reader love | 58 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 89 | 20% |
Questions about Life of Pi
When was Life of Pi published?
Life of Pi by Yann Martel was first published in 2000.
Was Life of Pi one of the best books of 2000?
Life of Pi is #5 on BookWard's Best Books of 2000, out of 45 2000 books that cleared our data bar. 1,140 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.9 out of 5 (154 ratings); 60 are reading it right now.
Why is Life of Pi on the Best Books of 2000 list?
1,140 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.9 out of 5 (154 ratings); 60 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 2000
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire J. K. Rowling, #1
- The 48 Laws of Power Robert Greene, #2
- Because of Winn-Dixie Kate DiCamillo, #3
- The Gruffalo Julia Donaldson, #4
- Esperanza Rising Pam Muñoz Ryan, #6
- Rich Dad's Guide to Investing Robert T. Kiyosaki, #7
See the full Best Books of 2000, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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