Life of Pi, by Yann Martel

Martel, Yann (2001 ). Life of Pi.  Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN: 0395977894

Summary: Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, follows the adventures of 16-year old Pi Patel.  He, his family, and all of the animals from his family’s zoo are aboard a cargo ship moving from southern India to North America when disaster strikes and the ship sinks. Things become even more disastrous for Pi when his lifeboat becomes a refuge for several zoo animals, including the Bengal tiger. 

Additional Comments:  Life of Pi is an imaginative and suspenseful tale of survival in which Pi examines not only his place in the immediate surroundings of the lifeboat but also on a philosophical level, his place in the universe as well.

Into the Wild (Soundtrack)

Vedder, Eddie (2007).  Music for the motion picture "Into the wild" (Audio recording).  J-Records.

Summary:  Into the Wild was originally published by Jon Krakauer in 1996 and told the true story of Christopher McCandless, a young man whose desire to separate himself from the constraints of society and whose post-graduation adventures across America land him in the solitude of the Alaskan wilderness.  A diary he kept revealed that his attempt to live off the land while living alone in an old van led to food poisoning that eventually killed him. Eddie Vedder, the lead singer of Pearl Jam, went solo to create the acoustic soundtrack for Sean Penn's 2007 Oscar-nominated film. 

Additional Comments:  Eddie Vedder's melancholic guitar-strumming and thoughtful lyrics echo Chris' reflective musings and sense of detachment from others.  Eddie Vedder's raw, emotional vocals in songs like "Hard Sun" and "Society" set a mournful tone that echo Chris' departures from friends and family that care for him.  Lyrics, such as  "Society, crazy indeed / I hope you're not lonely without me" also further echo the story's tragic theme of a young man whose head-strong determination to make it on his own lead to an untimely death.