Life of Pi: halfway done

I am almost halfway through Life of Pi. Where I have stopped, Pi has just listed all the things that he has found in the lifeboat. I've never been a person who is into survival, camping, anything in that realm, and so I skimmed the list and moved on. I can always reference it later.

My biggest problem in this section, Pi in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a hyena and a tiger that he just discovered, is HOW DID HE NOT KNOW THE TIGER WAS IN THE BOAT!?!? I mean, maybe his lifeboat is larger than I am picturing it, but still, I feel like it would be impossible NOT to know there was a tiger in there. Pi says his boat is about 100 square feet, which is approximately the size of the room I am in. I can say with absolute certainty that if there was a 450 pound Bengal tiger in here, I would know it.

Additionally, I am having a hard time trying to picture what the lifeboat looks like. I can understand the size and shape of the boat, and that it has seats across similar to a row boat, except one was broken by the zebra. It seems like there is a tarp that is going across the top of the boat, or maybe under the seats, and the tiger is under the tarp, but then wouldn't you know that the tiger was under there? You would either see a large lump, or you could peek under and see a tiger. I just don't get it.

And whatever happened to this being a story about believing in God? I think I admitted in the last post that I am not particularly religious or spiritual, but I am extremely interested in that topic in general. I usually only can see the bad in religion (politics, intolerance, hypocrisy) but if there arguments for its good, I like to hear them. This story especially seemed like it would be one of those arguments, but not in an overbearing way. Episodes about why Pi chose to convert to several religions at once, and the conversation between the three holy men were interesting and something that was new to me. However, Pi vs. a hyena and a tiger does not seem so very close to that story. I'm sure it will come together. This story has had quite a bit of foreshadowing already so I'm sure the religious piece will come full circle. Pi's lesson about how animals are vicious, and that omega animals perform for trainers because they have nothing to lose, are already beginning to relate to the tiger, Richard Parker, haha. Thirsty None Given, haha.

I hope the survival part of the book, which lasts for 140 more pages either goes quickly or gets more interesting. Me and intense survival books generally do not get along.