I thought this book was interesting....but also kind of tedious. The beginning before the boat ride was a chore to get through. A lot of mixed religious info and numerous...how to term this?...lists. The book could be a heck of a lot shorter and easier to read if the author would have cut out all his "lists", and by lists I mean, every time he would mention something, he would then follow it up with a long list of examples. IE, he described the lushness and verdantness of his backyard, and then went on to lost every type of tree back there. It would be like me saying my backyard is full of trees and how beautiful it is, then saying I have oak trees and maple trees and pines and ash and hemlock and chestnut trees and....yeah, we get it already! And the author did that numerous times, and it got old quickly.
The boat stuff got more interesting, but only if the zoology and survival facts were actually true and not also works of fiction. Then the prologue kind of confused me. Did he share the boat with the tiger or the cook? Was it all symbolism? Was there some religious aspect I missed to the boat ride/animals/story? I've mentioned numerous times that I prefer the author to tell me what's happening in his book, not making me work for it, or trying to infer things. I'll take it for face value now, but I didn't enjoy the book enough to try to read more into it, or do more research about it. Not one of my favorites. ( )

Imaginative yet a social commentary. Riveting. ( )

Beautiful and ugly. Peaceful and disturbing. Shocking. I couldn't sleep after finishing this book. ( )

Idk I just couldn't really get into it which sucks. ( )

This was a beautiful story! I would describe myself as an agnostic who is fascinated by myths/religion, but detests most organized religion. This hits at the heart of why there is a need for religion and different ways to see the world. You must finish the book to understand what's happening. ( )