F4 in their forties (신사의 품격 2012)

What a cheerful drama. It makes me so much absorbed and forget about other stressful things. The way the actors and actresses talk are neither obvious nor trite. On the contrary, it's bouncing and sticky. It's also fresh and attractive because the main characters are not as young and naive as those of usual dramas. They are in their early forties and the love stories of ups and downs sound plausible and look more like reality. The only downside is they exchange talks too well as if they play linguistically. 

There are four men who get established in their careers. Two are single architects, another is a widower and lawyer, and the other is married and tries to get an affair out of his affluent wife's sight whenever opportunity offers. They're not sneaky old guys. What they do and talk is pleasant because they're not that decadent. They publicly reveal their wolfish remarks, which is cute. 

There's a single female ethics teacher who is passionate in her job and quite naive about love relationships. She is in unrequited love at first sight. One of the architects is her ideal man, but he loves her roomie. Another architect, who is an experienced playboy, is interested in her. And their relationships grow interwound and I can't wait for the next episode. 

The man says: Spring has come in which the age 41 is no longer upsetting and dejecting .

Life of Pi (Yann Martel)

Things didn't turn out the way they were supposed to, but what can you do? You must take life the way it comes at you and make the best of it. (chapter 35) 

It was a boring book at first. Then it got interesting, though, as the story developed. At the end, the story sounded far-fetched and unlikely, and I felt like I become one of the skeptical Japanese sailors who find Pi's story extremely hard to believe. 

It took much patience to read Part 1 which has an array of informational explanations about animals' behavior and different religions. Pi grows up in Pondicherry, India that has French influence. His parents runs a zoo, and due to  his father he learns a lot about animal behavior and has accessible chances to be able to observe various animal traits on a regular basis. Pi is such an embracing, god-loving person that he begins to practice Islam and Catholicity as well as being a natural Hindu. 

16-year-old Pi goes through indescribable ordeals after the cargo ship, which his family and the zoo animals board to emigrate to Canada, sank for unknown reasons. Labyrinth-like mystery depicted in Part 1 starts unraveling across the Pacific ocean. Seemingly meaningless and lengthy details in Part 1 make much sense and every piece of the puzzle is put elaborately together while Pi copes with terrible predicaments and eventually survives with an adult tiger on the same lifeboat. Pi is adrift with a handful of animals: a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena, and a tiger. He finally becomes a super alpha who successfully domesticates the tiger named Richard Parker which killed the bloodthirsty hyena. What is unbelievable in Part 2 is that Pi doesn't become an atheist like Mr. Kumar did when he had a polio. Pi figures out how to stay alive and even finds himself saying natural beauty in stifling heat, rainless days and stormy nights, and worst yet solitary time. 

What is remarkable about this boy is that he briefly chronicles in his journal and prays and keeps his faith. He never gives up hope and makes the best of the given adversities with his courage, wisdom, and endurance. It's an astounding story which is unparalleled with any other shipwrecked castaways even though I haven't read the Old Man and the Sea or Robinson Crusoe.  

When the story reaches the scenes where blind Pi meets another lone castaway and the carnivorous island, I assume he's so delirious that he doesn't tell reality from hallucination. Maybe the castaway is French cook(hyena) who butchered the Taiwanese sailor(zebra) and Pi's mother(orangutan). The animal story is hard to believe while the human story is too gruesome to believe. Thus, I can't help accepting  the animal version as what happened. I don't want to believe in cannibalism which jeopardizes humanity and challenges God whatever hardship castaways face. People say life and art is an interpretation and why not believe the better, miraculous story. 

The following is a memorable quote from the book: Things didn't turn out the way they were supposed to, but what can you do? You must take life the way it comes at you and make the best of it. (chapter 35) 

Ang Lee's movie adaptation will be released soon and I'm interested in seeing it. I'm leaning toward recommending this book. Overall, t's a good book only if you overcome the pain rather than pleasure of reading part 1.  

Kate from a blog: "The Life of Pi is one of those books that EVERYONE was reading, and, therefore, I was NOT reading. I don't generally like to read the books there is so much furor over; I tend to wait until things calm down, *then* pick them up."