9/8/2014
Yikes. This is beautifully written with great characters, structure and themes but I found it difficult. I couldn’t put it down but neither could I quite believe it. Two boys journey, partly on the Appalachian Trail, through grief and coming of age issues, perfectly mirrors a second story, a fantasy about Pi. Pirates, murders, a giant bear, woodland burials, all seemed too invented for the purpose of the plot rather than organically part of it. It read more like an elaborate dream that you never forget but can’t explain either. I loved the character of Early Auden…compelling and odd but believe able; he outshines the rest of the book which did not seem believe able to me.