He’s listed books that he’s loved, and you can tell this man is a dreamer, he has vision. In fact, it’s stark, it’s amazing, the difference between him and Stephen Harper. FM: Do you intend on starting this project with President Obama? I’ve written to Harper for three years now, not a single reply from him, whereas I’ve got a hand-written note from Barack Obama about a month and a half ago because he read “Life of Pi” with his daughter and he liked it.ĥ. And so if someone who has never read a book since they’ve left high school, or a poem or a play, I wonder, where do they get their vision? Where do they get their understanding of the other? Where do they get their sense of empathy for the other? Where do they get their dreams? So it scares me.Īlso, it’s funny. Art is not just entertainment-it’s also the best tool to understand life. You know, we can’t be ruled entirely by middle-aged white men who haven’t read a book since they’ve left high school. FM: And how long do you intend on doing this for? I thought: what can I do as a citizen, a citizen of the arts? I decided, well, I’d send him a book every two weeks.Ĥ. So to have a class that was so disconnected culturally struck me as very dangerous. We are who we are, the language we speak, the notions we entertain, all of these are cultural, the things we do artistically, the things we take in.
YM: I sensed this great disconnect between the political class and the artistic class, a lack of interest, a lack of involvement, which struck me as tragic because we’re not economic animals-we’re ultimately cultural animals. FM: In a recent project, you attempt to send Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper one book every two weeks as bedside reading. I’ve lived abroad a lot, I’ve traveled a lot, but I’ve only ever had a Canadian passport.ģ. Usually American novelists set their stories where they live, so I’m Canadian. Is this a promotional attempt to get us all to move up north? FM: Many of your works have parts set in Canada.
After two years I had enough, but it was still interesting talking to readers.Ģ. Yann Martel: I toured for “Life of Pi” for two years, so I did end up talking a lot about animals and shipwrecks and religion and multiple faiths. Fifteen Minutes: Are you tired of people asking you shipwreck-related questions yet? How are a shipwreck, a tiger, and God connected? All play a major part in Yann Martel’s Booker Prize winning novel, “Life of Pi.” Nearly nine years after the publication of his runaway success, Martel sits down with FM on a sunny afternoon at the First Unitarian Church in Harvard Square to discuss his new book, his résumé, President Obama, and religion.ġ.
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