Life of Pi - Yann Martel

This is the story of Piscine Patel, called Pi, who finds himself adrift in the Pacific Ocean on a small lifeboat with a 45lb Bengal Tiger called Richard Parker for company. It's the story of their journey, survival and exactly how to stop a tiger eating you after it's eaten the hyena, zebra and orangutan who were previously also stranded on the boat.
Martel's book falls into the category of magical realism, or books that could be real stories if it weren't for the fantastical elements, and bits of this story are certainly fantastical, I won't ruin it for anyone who has yet to read it, but it's quite outlandish at times. It's an easy read, made up of short chapters, recounted mostly in first person as the adult Pi tells his tale to an unknown writer looking for a good story. The construct of Pi's story being reported works quite well, with the addition of a report from the shipping company's representative who visits Pi in an attempt to find out why the ship he and his family were on sank and how he became the sole survivor (except the tiger). I liked this one, it's quite slight, so it makes a good holiday read.