"You might think I lost all hope at that point. I did. And as a result I perked up and felt much better."

- Yann Martel

"Very few castaways can claim to have survived so long at sea as Mr. Patel, and none in the company of an adult Bengal tiger."

- Yann Martel

"To lose your father is to lose the one whose guidance and help you seek, who supports you like a tree trunk supports its branches."

- Yann Martel

"To lose a brother is to lose someone with whom you can share the experience of growing old, who is supposed to bring you a sister-in-law and nieces and nephews, creatures who people the tree of your life and give it new branches."

- Yann Martel

"The men nodded vigorously at me. When they took hold of me and lifted me in their strong arms, I thought nothing of it. I thought they were helping me. I was so full of trust in them that I felt grateful as they carried me in the air. Only when they threw me overboard did I begin to have doubts."

- Yann Martel