Life of Pi (film tie-in)

Lets begin with what LIFE OF PI isnt. Its not a Man against Nature survival story. Its not a story about zoos or wild animals or animal husbandry. Its not ROBINSON CRUSOE or SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON. Its not a literary version of CASTAWAY or OPEN WATER, and its not a "triumph against all odds, happily ever after" rescue story. To classify it as such would be like classifying THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA as a story about a poor fisherman or MOBY DICK as a sea story. Or THE TRIAL as a courtroom drama, THE PLAGUE as a story of an epidemic, HEART OF DARKNESS as a story about slavery, or ANIMAL FARM as an animal adventure.