Contex t Yann Martel was born on June 25, 1963, in Salamanca, Spain, to Canadian parents
When Martel was a young boy, his parents joined the Canadian Foreign Services, and the family moved frequently, living in Alaska, France, Costa Rica, Ontario, and British Columbia
Martel went on to study philosophy at Trent University in Ontario, where he discovered a love for writing
After graduating in 1985, Martel lived with his parents and worked a number of odd jobs while continuing to write fiction
He published a collection of short stories, The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios, in 1993 and a novel, Self, in 1996, but neither book received much critical or commercial attention
In 2002, however, Martel’s international literary reputation was sealed with the publication of Life of Pi, a r