<Tr> <Th> Preceded by </Th> <Td> Self </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Followed by </Th> <Td> Beatrice and Virgil </Td> </Tr> <P> Life of Pi is a Canadian fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel published in 2001 . The protagonist is Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry who explores issues of spirituality and practicality from an early age . He survives 227 days after a shipwreck while stranded on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker . </P> <P> The novel has sold more than ten million copies worldwide . It was rejected by at least five London publishing houses before being accepted by Knopf Canada, which published it in September 2001 . The UK edition won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction the following year . It was also chosen for CBC Radio's Canada Reads 2003, where it was championed by author Nancy Lee . </P>

What is the tiger in life of pi