The Life of Pi

[Grouch]

1992: Yann Martel says he reads a New York Times review by John Updike of a book called Max and the Cats by Brazilian writer Moacyr Scliar. "The novel, as far as I can remember, was about a zoo in Berlin run by a Jewish family," Martel has written in an article for Powell's Books. "The year is 1933 and, not surprisingly, business is bad. The family decides to emigrate to Brazil. Alas, the ship sinks and one lone Jew ends up in a lifeboat with a black panther."

1992-1996: Martel forgets about Max and the Cats and goes on to write his own books....but the nugget of the idea--someone adrift on a boat with zoo animals--stays with him.

1997: Martel remembers Scliar's story and suddenly "my mind was exploding with ideas." He begins to write Life of Pi, in which a ship sinks and one lone boy, Pi, ends up in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger.

June 2002: Life of Pi is published to great acclaim.

October 2002: The shortlist for the Booker Prize is announced. Martel is nominated, along with Tim Winton, Carol Shields, William Trevor, Sarah Waters and Rohinton Mistry.

October 18, 2002: YANN MARTEL WINS THE BOOKER, according to an announcement on the Booker's website.

October 18, 2002: Oops! It was only a sample news release accidentally posted on the site. The Booker committee is red-faced.

October 19, 2002: London bookies close all betting on the Booker. The faux announcement has screwed up everything.

October 22, 2002: YANN MARTEL WINS THE BOOKER. For real, this time.

November 2002:
Brazilians are upset over the fact that Martel has been awarded for stealing an idea from their beloved Scliar




I've yet to read Life of Pi, but I've gotta admit, the story behind the story is getting pretty darned interesting.

[Redlass]

I read some of the publicity about this book recently--though none of the info found here.

Has anyone else read this book?

[quasar]

Nope, but it sounds very interesting.

Janice

[Grouch]

The website Moby Lives has rounded up a few more news stories on the matter.

an Associated Press wire story filed late yesterday from Rio de Janiero says L&PM, the publisher of the book Martel is accused of plagiarizing, "Max and the Cats" by Moacyr Scliar, says the company has decided it "does not plan to take legal action" against Martel. L&PM director Ivan Pinheiro Machado added that "Scliar is reading the book and said it is very well written. The situation is exactly the same, but the context is completely different. The curious thing is their cover is almost the same as ours." But if his comments seemed somewhat calming, in England, the chair of the Booker jury, Lisa Jardine, issued some rather incindiary comments. As Phinjo Gombu reports in a Toronto Star report, Jardine called the controversy the work of "very ignorant Brazilian journalists." She particularly took to task the Canadian media, where the story has been front page news. ""The Life Of Pi is a seriously brilliant book. I think it's the best winner of the Booker Prize since (Salman Rushdie's) Midnight's Children and I deeply resent the fact that (Martel's) triumph is being turned into a cheap little media game."

Curiouser and curiouser.