Hurt Locker

Saw 'Hurt Locker' last week.Loved it.It's the story of US troops stationed in Iraq responsible for id-ing and disarming IEDs.Sans political overtones or the ethics of going to war,it shows

in stark documentary style the minutes leading up to a disarming operation,fraught with tension and in the verge of violence.

I loved how the director focused only on one component of war while exploring the physical demands and stress that the troops deal with.

Definitely Oscar worhy...

The Life of Pi - By Yann Martel

Winner of the 2002 Man Booker Prize for Fiction

Pi Patel is an unusual boy. The son of a zookeeper, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior, a fervent love of stories, and practices not only his native Hinduism, but also Christianity and Islam. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes.

The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them "the truth." After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional-but is it more true?

Life of Pi is at once a realistic, rousing adventure and a meta-tale of survival that explores the redemptive power of storytelling and the transformative nature of fiction. It's a story, as one character puts it, to make you believe in God.

Sakhi Book Club Review Format

GENERAL REVIEW FORMAT:


* Plot/Story line:  what we liked about the plot/story; what was not so appealing; where we felt the author missed out (plot inconsistencies, whatever didn't add up etc.)

* Characterization:  our analysis of the story's characters one by one - what makes them tick; how well they have been depicted; their role in the story.

* Setting:  how well the author has succeeded in drawing us into the place/time period of the story, whether it has been convincing or not.

* Language/Stylistic elements: humor, style of writing

* The key message/philosophy underlying the story:  the main point that we think the author is trying to convey. This is just guesswork, since we don't really know what the writer intended. There are no right or wrong answers.

* Parallels with other books, or real life situations:  how do you relate to it.  Is it realistic, have you come across any of these situations in your life? This is just to share our experiences.

* Questions we may have:  whatever comes to mind - anything that has sparked our interest while reading this book.  Sometimes it could be what you did not understand, how it not fit in or any thing you would like clarified from the group.