The Elephants in My Backyard

September 26, 2016
In this honest but uneven memoir, actor Surendra chronicles his pursuit to become cast in the lead role of the 2012 film Life of Pi. Surendra discovers the novel that the film is based on during his time on the set of Mean Girls. Surendra is convinced by cultural, physical, and biographical similarities that he is destined to portray Pi, the Tamil teenager at the center of the book, and sets out on a series of adventures to test his ability to embody his beloved character. In an early escapade, Surendra abandons his college life in Toronto to visit Pondicherry, India, the hometown of Pi. Here, the genuinely curious narrator grapples with the pressure of researching for a coveted role while rediscovering his own identity: “My first name was the part I thought was authentic, but in that classroom in Pondicherry, I discovered that I had lived my whole life pronouncing my own name incorrectly, like a big dumb-dumb.” These reflective moments add breadth to a voice that is otherwise naive to a fault, stumbling awkwardly as he creates insensitive caricatures of some of the minor characters who cross his path. By the end of the journey, casual readers get to experience beekeeping, au-pairing in Munich, and the life of a museum reenactor, but most will likely be left wondering what the book’s bigger point is.

Starred review from October 1, 2016
A young actor loses a great role but finds a wonderful story to share.Surendra might best be known through a memorable supporting role in Mean Girls, but this debut shows a real gift for writing, likely one that has been shaped by the story it relates. While still a student in Canada, the son of Tamil immigrants from India landed a role that would change his lifethat of the rapping Kevin Gnapoor in the Tina Fey film starring Lindsay Lohan that would far exceed all expectations as a cult favorite. While shooting that movie, a cameraman strongly recommended the popular novel Life of Pi, and Surendra discovered a host of remarkable similarities between himself and the young Indian boy cast adrift on the sea. Then he learned that the novel was being adapted into a movie, and he devoted himself to landing the lead role. He traveled to India, immersed himself in the locations referenced in the novel, initiated a correspondence with novelist Yann Martel, and conquered his fear of water and learned to swim. Surendra even turned down an offer for regular work on a series to pursue the Life of Pi role. However, as Martel advised him, its in the hands of Vishnu and Hollywood. Early signs looked promising, as the only notable brown director in Hollywood was attachedM. Night Shyamalan, of The Sixth Sense fame. Alas, Shyamalan was only the first of many to be involved, and the process went on and on. Though many readers will know that the part went to someone else, the authors determination was rewarded in different fashion: through what he learned about himself and the salvation he experienced. He remains an actor, but he has also established a successful commercial calligraphy business, and this book shows that he is an accomplished writer as well. One of the more insightful and inspirational of the recent glut of showbiz memoirs.

COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 1, 2016
Surendra was on set for his first major film role, the rapping mathlete Kevin Gnapoor in Mean Girls, when a cameraman nodded his way and said, You're in the book I just finished. . . . Have you read Life of Pi? Intrigued, Surendra read Yann Martel's novel about a shipwrecked boy only to discover that the cameraman's odd hello went beyond the looks and Tamil heritage he shared with the character. Pi is the son of a zookeeper; Surendra grew up hearing the sounds of the animals in the Toronto Zoo near his house. Pi's journey even takes him to Scarborough, the very suburb where Surendra lives. When he hears the movie rights have been sold, he decides that the role of Pi will be his. He corresponds with Martel; travels to the Pondicherry, India, school Pi attends; and painstakingly learns to swim. Anyone who's seen the movie knows how this part of the story ends, but that's exactly the point of Surendra's imaginative, diversion-full, and refreshingly green memoir about the surprises that living a creative life can offer.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)