What do you think?
Rate this book
The Elephants in My Backyard: A Memoir
“This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. I found myself standing dangerously close to the edge of a cliff. Far below me was an incredible abyss with no end in sight. I could turn back and safely return to where I had come from, or I could throw caution to the wind, lift my arms up into the air . . . and jump.” — From The Elephants in My Backyard
What happens when you spend ten years obsessively pursuing a dream, and then, in the blink of an eye, you learn that you have failed, that the dream will not come true?
In 2003, Rajiv Surendra was filming Mean Girls, playing the beloved rapping mathlete Kevin Gnapoor, when a cameraman insisted he read Yann Martel’s Life of Pi. So begins his “lovely and human” (Jenny Lawson, author of Furiously Happy) tale of obsessively pursuing a dream, overcoming failure, and finding meaning in life.
Mesmerized by all the similarities between Pi and himself—both are five-foot-five with coffee-colored complexions, both share a South Indian culture, both lived by a zoo—when Rajiv learns that Life of Pi will be made into a major motion picture he is convinced that playing the title role is his destiny.
In a great leap of faith Rajiv embarks on a quest to embody the sixteen-year-old Tamil schoolboy. He quits university and buys a one-way ticket from Toronto to South India. He visits the sacred stone temples of Pondicherry, he travels to the frigid waters off the coast of rural Maine, and explores the cobbled streets of Munich. He befriends Yann Martel, a priest, a castaway, an eccentric old woman, and a pack of Tamil schoolboys. He learns how to swim, to spin wool, to keep bees, and to look a tiger in the eye. All the while he is really learning how to dream big, to fail, to survive, to love, and to become who he truly is.
Rajiv Surendra captures the uncertainty, heartache, and joy of finding ones place in the world with sly humor and refreshing honesty. The Elephants in My Backyard is not a journey of goals and victories, but a story of process and determination. It is a spellbinding and profound book for anyone who has ever failed at something and had to find a new path through life
What happens when you spend ten years obsessively pursuing a dream, and then, in the blink of an eye, you learn that you have failed, that the dream will not come true?
In 2003, Rajiv Surendra was filming Mean Girls, playing the beloved rapping mathlete Kevin Gnapoor, when a cameraman insisted he read Yann Martel’s Life of Pi. So begins his “lovely and human” (Jenny Lawson, author of Furiously Happy) tale of obsessively pursuing a dream, overcoming failure, and finding meaning in life.
Mesmerized by all the similarities between Pi and himself—both are five-foot-five with coffee-colored complexions, both share a South Indian culture, both lived by a zoo—when Rajiv learns that Life of Pi will be made into a major motion picture he is convinced that playing the title role is his destiny.
In a great leap of faith Rajiv embarks on a quest to embody the sixteen-year-old Tamil schoolboy. He quits university and buys a one-way ticket from Toronto to South India. He visits the sacred stone temples of Pondicherry, he travels to the frigid waters off the coast of rural Maine, and explores the cobbled streets of Munich. He befriends Yann Martel, a priest, a castaway, an eccentric old woman, and a pack of Tamil schoolboys. He learns how to swim, to spin wool, to keep bees, and to look a tiger in the eye. All the while he is really learning how to dream big, to fail, to survive, to love, and to become who he truly is.
Rajiv Surendra captures the uncertainty, heartache, and joy of finding ones place in the world with sly humor and refreshing honesty. The Elephants in My Backyard is not a journey of goals and victories, but a story of process and determination. It is a spellbinding and profound book for anyone who has ever failed at something and had to find a new path through life
288 pages, Hardcover
Published November 8, 2016
68 people are currently reading
2523 people want to read
About the author
Rajiv Surendra
4 books38 followersRajiv Surendra is a modern-day renaissance man; he's a painter, a potter, woodworker and calligrapher. He's also an actor and is best known for his scene-stealing performance as the rapping mathlete, Kevin Gnapoor, in Mean Girls. Rajiv was born and raised in Canada and holds a bachelor's degree in Art History and Classics from the University of Toronto. Today he lives in New York City where he runs his business, Letters In Ink, while continuing to pursue a multifaceted career in the arts.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 117 reviews
December 19, 2021
I was captivated by Rajiv Surendra’s story after a friend sent me a video of him giving a tour around his creative and eclectic apartment. A few videos later I learned he had written a book and I immediately ordered it from my local library.
I was enjoying the first few pages of his book until page 28, where Surendra couldn’t help but to use the n-word in an imagined conversation with Jay-Z. Surendra insists it would be “endearing”, though never in my years has a Black person been endeared to a nonblack person calling them a n****. I was befuddled. Why would he make that choice as a nonblack person? Why would he be so flippant about a word steeped in such a violent and well known history? Sir, we’re not even 30 pages in and you’re throwing slurs around? Truly careless.
I kept reading for a couple of chapters but that choice took me out of my original captivation with this character. I’m also in awe that it made it past the editors. It’s a passage that is far from necessary. The book sat on my bedside table for a few days before I decided to just take it back to the library.
I was enjoying the first few pages of his book until page 28, where Surendra couldn’t help but to use the n-word in an imagined conversation with Jay-Z. Surendra insists it would be “endearing”, though never in my years has a Black person been endeared to a nonblack person calling them a n****. I was befuddled. Why would he make that choice as a nonblack person? Why would he be so flippant about a word steeped in such a violent and well known history? Sir, we’re not even 30 pages in and you’re throwing slurs around? Truly careless.
I kept reading for a couple of chapters but that choice took me out of my original captivation with this character. I’m also in awe that it made it past the editors. It’s a passage that is far from necessary. The book sat on my bedside table for a few days before I decided to just take it back to the library.
August 3, 2021
TW: mentions and quotations of explicit fatphobia
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
A while back I fell in love with Rajiv's story and his life through some youtube videos I found where he was featured, and I immediately knew I wanted to read his book. It started out promising, and while chasing a movie role seems like a very specific goal, I think the underlying idea and obsessiveness of Rajiv's fervour is something that most people can relate to. When you want something badly enough, you will do whatever it takes to get it, and I wish Rajiv could have pondered and expanded a bit more on what then happens when you don't get it despite your best efforts. He mentioned that none of his efforts were really wasted, and I think this was the idea in his TED-talk that made me want to read the book, but the ending of the book made me feel the same way. I feel like it was a largely unexplored aspect of the story.
What really tanked my rating for the novel, however, was the fact that it contains probably the grossest depiction of fatphobia I have ever come across in a book. To quote:
"I tried my best not to notice the obese old man to my left ... his ginormous belly spilling over his speedos, the black fabric stretched beyond its limits. As he lethargically turned from front to back under the shower spout, making no effort at all to lift his huge, hippo-like arms to clean under them, I wondered whether he ever actually washed between the folds of his fatty belly, the folds of his fatty thighs or, worst of all, the myriad of folds that made up his massive buttocks – the suffocating sweat-pockets which probably housed a multitude of old, caked-on pieces of festering fecal matter that he was never able to reach. That's why he swims, I concluded."
(Appears at roughly 45% in the Audible version, the transcription is mine so it's possible the punctuation etc looks different in the physical version)
Rajiv also, then, goes on to say that a skinny man looks like an Auswitz-survivor, so clearly there is bad and insensitive stereotyping acting in both directions here. The irony, however, of Rajiv shaming an overweight man for exercising is not lost on me. My jaw literally dropped while I was listening to this section, and while I understand that the point of the section was all of the dirt that could possibly be present in the water, the continued stereotyping that overweight and obese people are either unable or unwilling to wash properly and maintain proper hygiene is incredibly harmful and offensive.
It is beyond my understanding how the passage did not get picked up on by the editor, or literally anyone else before the book was approved and went to print.
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
A while back I fell in love with Rajiv's story and his life through some youtube videos I found where he was featured, and I immediately knew I wanted to read his book. It started out promising, and while chasing a movie role seems like a very specific goal, I think the underlying idea and obsessiveness of Rajiv's fervour is something that most people can relate to. When you want something badly enough, you will do whatever it takes to get it, and I wish Rajiv could have pondered and expanded a bit more on what then happens when you don't get it despite your best efforts. He mentioned that none of his efforts were really wasted, and I think this was the idea in his TED-talk that made me want to read the book, but the ending of the book made me feel the same way. I feel like it was a largely unexplored aspect of the story.
What really tanked my rating for the novel, however, was the fact that it contains probably the grossest depiction of fatphobia I have ever come across in a book. To quote:
"I tried my best not to notice the obese old man to my left ... his ginormous belly spilling over his speedos, the black fabric stretched beyond its limits. As he lethargically turned from front to back under the shower spout, making no effort at all to lift his huge, hippo-like arms to clean under them, I wondered whether he ever actually washed between the folds of his fatty belly, the folds of his fatty thighs or, worst of all, the myriad of folds that made up his massive buttocks – the suffocating sweat-pockets which probably housed a multitude of old, caked-on pieces of festering fecal matter that he was never able to reach. That's why he swims, I concluded."
(Appears at roughly 45% in the Audible version, the transcription is mine so it's possible the punctuation etc looks different in the physical version)
Rajiv also, then, goes on to say that a skinny man looks like an Auswitz-survivor, so clearly there is bad and insensitive stereotyping acting in both directions here. The irony, however, of Rajiv shaming an overweight man for exercising is not lost on me. My jaw literally dropped while I was listening to this section, and while I understand that the point of the section was all of the dirt that could possibly be present in the water, the continued stereotyping that overweight and obese people are either unable or unwilling to wash properly and maintain proper hygiene is incredibly harmful and offensive.
It is beyond my understanding how the passage did not get picked up on by the editor, or literally anyone else before the book was approved and went to print.
June 27, 2022
I will start by saying that I had been a fan of Surendra’s for nearly two decades, and when I learned he would be writing a memoir, I immediately put it on my “to read” list. Unfortunately, I had many problems with The Elephants in My Backyard: A Memoir, and I find myself confused and disappointed.
Surendra is not a skilled writer, and his editors could not disguise him as one. The memoir is flooded with unusual, downright bad literary choices from beginning to end. One of the most confusing choices was Surendra’s decision to include a paragraph where he fantasizes about meeting Jay-Z and contemplating calling him the n-word (yes, he writes the actual word, and yes, he says it in the audiobook). Am I to assume Surendra uses this word in his everyday life when meeting Black people? Does Surendra find the racial slur to be amusing? It was completely unnecessary and an example of how clumsy and unsophisticated his writing and thoughts are.
I would not recommend this book, even to fans of his. It was self-congratulatory, sophomoric, and most importantly, lacked genuine introspection, which is what you hope for in a memoir. For someone who comes off superficially as a relatively interesting guy, he produced a very uninteresting book.
Surendra is not a skilled writer, and his editors could not disguise him as one. The memoir is flooded with unusual, downright bad literary choices from beginning to end. One of the most confusing choices was Surendra’s decision to include a paragraph where he fantasizes about meeting Jay-Z and contemplating calling him the n-word (yes, he writes the actual word, and yes, he says it in the audiobook). Am I to assume Surendra uses this word in his everyday life when meeting Black people? Does Surendra find the racial slur to be amusing? It was completely unnecessary and an example of how clumsy and unsophisticated his writing and thoughts are.
I would not recommend this book, even to fans of his. It was self-congratulatory, sophomoric, and most importantly, lacked genuine introspection, which is what you hope for in a memoir. For someone who comes off superficially as a relatively interesting guy, he produced a very uninteresting book.
November 27, 2017
3.5 stars The Elephants in My Backyard is the memoir of Rajiv Surendra (Kevin - the rapping mathlete in Mean Girls!) and his quest to be Pi in the movie based on the book, Life of Pi.
He was intent, like obsessively intent on becoming Pi, from traveling to India to the places in the novel, learning to swim, and emailing the author, Yann Martel. The email responses from Martel are included in this book, but not Surendra's correspondence. How Martel did not lose his sh*t with this guy, remained polite and kind is beyond me! It was quite obsessive seeming his emailing Martel through the years and through the many directors Hollywood burned through before finally landing Ang Lee but sadly, not casting Rajiv Surendra.
The final chapters are good ones - Rajiv left Toronto, left his dream of playing Pi and his unhappy home life and moved to Munich where he found peace and happiness.
He was intent, like obsessively intent on becoming Pi, from traveling to India to the places in the novel, learning to swim, and emailing the author, Yann Martel. The email responses from Martel are included in this book, but not Surendra's correspondence. How Martel did not lose his sh*t with this guy, remained polite and kind is beyond me! It was quite obsessive seeming his emailing Martel through the years and through the many directors Hollywood burned through before finally landing Ang Lee but sadly, not casting Rajiv Surendra.
The final chapters are good ones - Rajiv left Toronto, left his dream of playing Pi and his unhappy home life and moved to Munich where he found peace and happiness.
January 8, 2022
I will preface by saying I love what Rajiv has done recently, especially his pilot on Discovery! This book however is a strain to get through. The entire book is so self-absorbed and tiresome it's kind of hard to like Rajiv when you're reading it. A whole chapter on his skin issues? I'm not sure there was an editor here because all of the separate anecdotes don't add up to something meaningful in the end and the insane details can be annoying at times. The multiple fat shaming segments and the blatant racial stereotype of the TSA worker were the icing on the cake. Also, I chose the audiobook and the various foreign accents made me feel uncomfortable. Maybe this book was the Rajiv of the past? I still love Rajiv and his old world style/art making, but this book just really sucked. Sorry Rajiv.
January 14, 2023
Mean Girls was a formative movie of my youth for so many reasons, to the point where it was the first movie I purchased on DVD (at the same time that I bought my first DVD player). It was released in 2004, the same year I started high school, so I was of the generation it depicted. I also loved math. Indeed, my strongest Mean Girls memory is of my AP Calculus course in Grade 12. There were six of us in the class. One of the other students convinced our teacher to let us watch Mean Girls one day in class simply because it mentioned limits. I don’t remember what flimsy justification she proffered beyond this or why my teacher said yes, but it was a good time.
All of this is to say that this is why I was drawn to The Elephants in My Backyard. I saw a clip of Rajiv Surendra being interviewed with the two other prominent young male actors from the movie—all three of whom, it turns out, are gay—and the interviewer mentioned he had written a memoir. Hmm, I thought. He’s Canadian too, which is cool. I also like that this memoir isn’t really about Mean Girls, and while it is about acting, it is only tangentially about the movie industry. Rather, this is a story of what to do when you don’t achieve your dream.
Most of the book revolves around Surendra’s quest to be cast as the lead character in the adaptation of Life of Pi, a novel by another Canadian, Yann Martel. He even corresponds with Martel, excerpts of which are included throughout this book. Surendra, upon being introduced to the novel, marvels at how similar he and Pi Patel seem to be. He becomes obsessed with landing the role and devotes all his energy to preparing for it, to moulding himself into such a perfect Pi that no matter which director ends up being attached—for the movie goes through its own spate of growing pains and development hell—they will have no choice but to admit that yes, Rajiv, he is the one! He visits Pondicherry in India, learns how to swim, researches and interviews survivors who were adrift at sea—he pursues his goal somewhat singlemindedly.
As anyone who has seen the film knows, he was not successful.
In a society that fetishes success and demonizes failure—or uplifts failure only when it is a speedbump along the way to an eventual success—Surendra’s story stands out. Indeed, his story is the story of most people who enter film and television. He doesn’t go on to huge celebrity and an acting career after Mean Girls. He has comparatively few roles and has instead pursued other interests and means of making money, such as calligraphy. We focus so much in our society on career actors who rocket to fame as they land these huge roles or steady work when the reality for most actors is probably much closer to Surendra’s.
His writing style in the book is spare and penetrating. I felt like he was looking at me as I was reading his words. He doesn’t hold back in his opinions of people, places, etc., lauding those who helped him and were genuine, and being brutally honest about those who have harmed him. In particular, there is a chapter in which he reflects on his experiences growing up in a household with an abusive, alcoholic father … he doesn’t mince his words and doesn’t try to stay civil, let’s put it that way.
This was an easy book to read in a day, both because it’s on the shorter side but also because of how well Surendra has structured his narrative. It’s roughly chronological, with detours and flashbacks as needed, showing us how he goes from Mean Girls to research, living in India before returning to Toronto to resume school and working at a pioneer village. Interestingly, his romantic life and sexuality (Surendra is gay) doesn’t come up until the very end of the book. Again, although much of the book doesn’t discuss the film industry directly, most of the book involves Surendra’s obsession with landing this particular role.
I also love how much Surendra is into wool and knitting, going so far as to include a page at the end of the book with a photo of him in his favourite sweater and a technical explanation as to the gansey’s construction and history. As a knitter, this warms my heart.
This memoir fills a great niche. It belies many of the dominant narratives presented to us about actors and celebrities. It’s by a young, gay man of colour—a Canadian too—and asks us to think about how the intersections of race, class, immigrant status, etc. figure into our lives. And perhaps most obviously—but no less powerfully—The Elephants in My Backyard dares us to define success on our own terms, reminding us that failure is an option. It isn’t a case of “life works out for the best”—I hate it when people tell me that—but it is a reminder that we don’t control outcomes and that nothing we do can ever be enough to guarantee an outcome we desire. All we can do as we go through life is define our goals, work towards them, and adjust those goals as times change. Surendra may never have been adrift at sea, but in this book he shows himself to be adept at navigating the open ocean that is our lives and our desires.
Originally posted on Kara.Reviews, where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter.
All of this is to say that this is why I was drawn to The Elephants in My Backyard. I saw a clip of Rajiv Surendra being interviewed with the two other prominent young male actors from the movie—all three of whom, it turns out, are gay—and the interviewer mentioned he had written a memoir. Hmm, I thought. He’s Canadian too, which is cool. I also like that this memoir isn’t really about Mean Girls, and while it is about acting, it is only tangentially about the movie industry. Rather, this is a story of what to do when you don’t achieve your dream.
Most of the book revolves around Surendra’s quest to be cast as the lead character in the adaptation of Life of Pi, a novel by another Canadian, Yann Martel. He even corresponds with Martel, excerpts of which are included throughout this book. Surendra, upon being introduced to the novel, marvels at how similar he and Pi Patel seem to be. He becomes obsessed with landing the role and devotes all his energy to preparing for it, to moulding himself into such a perfect Pi that no matter which director ends up being attached—for the movie goes through its own spate of growing pains and development hell—they will have no choice but to admit that yes, Rajiv, he is the one! He visits Pondicherry in India, learns how to swim, researches and interviews survivors who were adrift at sea—he pursues his goal somewhat singlemindedly.
As anyone who has seen the film knows, he was not successful.
In a society that fetishes success and demonizes failure—or uplifts failure only when it is a speedbump along the way to an eventual success—Surendra’s story stands out. Indeed, his story is the story of most people who enter film and television. He doesn’t go on to huge celebrity and an acting career after Mean Girls. He has comparatively few roles and has instead pursued other interests and means of making money, such as calligraphy. We focus so much in our society on career actors who rocket to fame as they land these huge roles or steady work when the reality for most actors is probably much closer to Surendra’s.
His writing style in the book is spare and penetrating. I felt like he was looking at me as I was reading his words. He doesn’t hold back in his opinions of people, places, etc., lauding those who helped him and were genuine, and being brutally honest about those who have harmed him. In particular, there is a chapter in which he reflects on his experiences growing up in a household with an abusive, alcoholic father … he doesn’t mince his words and doesn’t try to stay civil, let’s put it that way.
This was an easy book to read in a day, both because it’s on the shorter side but also because of how well Surendra has structured his narrative. It’s roughly chronological, with detours and flashbacks as needed, showing us how he goes from Mean Girls to research, living in India before returning to Toronto to resume school and working at a pioneer village. Interestingly, his romantic life and sexuality (Surendra is gay) doesn’t come up until the very end of the book. Again, although much of the book doesn’t discuss the film industry directly, most of the book involves Surendra’s obsession with landing this particular role.
I also love how much Surendra is into wool and knitting, going so far as to include a page at the end of the book with a photo of him in his favourite sweater and a technical explanation as to the gansey’s construction and history. As a knitter, this warms my heart.
This memoir fills a great niche. It belies many of the dominant narratives presented to us about actors and celebrities. It’s by a young, gay man of colour—a Canadian too—and asks us to think about how the intersections of race, class, immigrant status, etc. figure into our lives. And perhaps most obviously—but no less powerfully—The Elephants in My Backyard dares us to define success on our own terms, reminding us that failure is an option. It isn’t a case of “life works out for the best”—I hate it when people tell me that—but it is a reminder that we don’t control outcomes and that nothing we do can ever be enough to guarantee an outcome we desire. All we can do as we go through life is define our goals, work towards them, and adjust those goals as times change. Surendra may never have been adrift at sea, but in this book he shows himself to be adept at navigating the open ocean that is our lives and our desires.
Originally posted on Kara.Reviews, where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter.
Read
April 15, 2025I think the point of memoirs is to not only learn lessons from other people's mistakes, but to also see their perspectives and faults. The Elephants in My Backyard certainly did highlight a few of the author's faults and 'misguided' perspective (yes, the JayZ and the swimming pool parts). They were certainly hard to ignore (and honestly they shouldn't be ignored in the first place). I think we can agree that the author does fall to some harmful stereotypes. But I think it's unfair to judge the whole book and his whole experience on those details that make up a small part of the book. Did he managed to learn a lesson by the end? Yes. Albeit it felt a bit unfulfilling as the book talks about his journey to preparing for the role in Life of Pi around 80% of the book and the moving on and redemption arc was around 10%-ish.
February 6, 2017
This book was a wonderful surprise. Rajiv, best known as Kevin G, the rapping mathlete in the amazing 'Mean Girls,' shares here his determined story of wanting the role of Pi in the film adaptation of Yann Martel's 'Life of Pi.'
I won't give away anything except to say his story is inspiring, funny, poignant and to me was very relatable. Goals help us shape our lives. Rajiv writes with clarity and humour. An inspiring effort, both on and off the page.
I won't give away anything except to say his story is inspiring, funny, poignant and to me was very relatable. Goals help us shape our lives. Rajiv writes with clarity and humour. An inspiring effort, both on and off the page.
February 7, 2017
Disclaimer: I won a free copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
Surendra's story is a great reminder that often the journey is more important than the destination in life. If you're a huge Mean Girls fan like me, then you'll recognize Surendra as the rapping mathlete Kevin Gnapor. Learning that the actor was nothing like the character was fun and this book tells the story of how he spent years pursuing the lead role in Life of Pi but ending up learning a lot more than how to portray a teenage Indian boy.
I had two very conflicting trains of thought while reading this book. On the one hand it's a story filled with all sorts of cool stuff. Surendra does unusual things and meets such a wide variety of people. He travels to India and Germany among other places. He imbues his narrative with intricate details at just the right points to truly make you feel like you're there with him.
And then the grumpy curmudgeon in me says that this is all nonsense. We can't all live this whimsical bohemian blifestyle he creates for himself. How the hell can he afford to fly to India when it sounds like his alcoholic father drinks all the money that comes into the house? Why is he so obsessed with his artistic pursuits that he skips Christmas with his family and really seems indifferent to them throughout the story?
I think if you're looking for a transformative travel book - stories of interesting people and places with a little personal growth thrown in, too - this will work nicely.
Surendra's story is a great reminder that often the journey is more important than the destination in life. If you're a huge Mean Girls fan like me, then you'll recognize Surendra as the rapping mathlete Kevin Gnapor. Learning that the actor was nothing like the character was fun and this book tells the story of how he spent years pursuing the lead role in Life of Pi but ending up learning a lot more than how to portray a teenage Indian boy.
I had two very conflicting trains of thought while reading this book. On the one hand it's a story filled with all sorts of cool stuff. Surendra does unusual things and meets such a wide variety of people. He travels to India and Germany among other places. He imbues his narrative with intricate details at just the right points to truly make you feel like you're there with him.
And then the grumpy curmudgeon in me says that this is all nonsense. We can't all live this whimsical bohemian blifestyle he creates for himself. How the hell can he afford to fly to India when it sounds like his alcoholic father drinks all the money that comes into the house? Why is he so obsessed with his artistic pursuits that he skips Christmas with his family and really seems indifferent to them throughout the story?
I think if you're looking for a transformative travel book - stories of interesting people and places with a little personal growth thrown in, too - this will work nicely.
February 10, 2022
A beautifully written memoir about Rajiv's journey of following his dreams, culture, travel, and self-exploration. It's honestly a beautiful journey and it's inspiring to read the lengths he goes to to become one character and the lessons he learns from his journey. I love Rajiv's writing style and the way he describes details is truly amazing. I'd love to read a novel written by Rajiv Surendra one day. I, obviously, recommend this book.
*Gifted by Penguin Random House Canada*
*Gifted by Penguin Random House Canada*
November 23, 2019
Kevin G, my dudes. It's interesting knowing from the very beginning the outcome, which makes it an even bigger oof, but it was super interesting reading about Rajiv's journey to fully embrace Pi. That's dedication and it's a beautiful thing.
June 18, 2017
2.5 stars - It was ok. He seems like a nice guy. There just wasn't a whole lot of substance here.
May 17, 2024
Unique part of the journey is that sometimes things don't work out even if you tried your hardest. What do you do next? Who are you even if something didn't work out? Rest of the writing was okay, boring in parts.
November 3, 2021
This memoir is honest, fun, and real. I love hearing from people who are unapologetic about their art.
January 30, 2022
I really liked this book. I'm obsessed with Surendra's house tour (which I think is an HGTV Youtube thing?). I know we're two years into a pandemic, but this really made me want to get out and live.
July 10, 2022
I really liked parts of this book, but I very much would have enjoyed the book more if other parts had been left out.
What I particularly enjoyed:
I absolutely loved reading about his time in India. As a child born in a western country to immigrants who were Indian, I really related to a lot of the things he talked about. You spend so much time believing that you're different from the people around you at home, but then you go to the country your family is from, the one where everyone looks like you, and you still don't belong there either. You're different from both cultures. It was really cool to see him experience that too.
I loved reading about his time in Munich and how he made a life for himself there, in this country he had never been to and where he didn't even really speak the language at first.
I liked learning about his family - it's real and raw and honestly I wish we could have had more of that. I feel like there's a lot he left out about his relationships with his family members and how complex it must be. Granted, this requires a level of vulnerability that he may not be comfortable with sharing, and to each their own. But I would have loved to know more about his relationship with his mother after she let the father come home that last time, or his relationship with his sisters considering he said that they weren't very close but he also said that they would band together in the face of their father.
What I didn't care for:
There are.... weird... portions of the book that really made it hard to get through. There are times when he goes on tangents that are unnecessary and sometimes uncomfortable for all the wrong reasons. There were times when there was an odd order in which he told his story. There were some points when I could have done with way less detail, and other times when I could have done with way more detail. The whole point of the book, I had thought, was to tell a story of wanting something with all your heart and soul, not getting it, then how you pick up the pieces afterwards. I have been wanting to read this book for years for this exact reason. But I felt like we spent so much time on his journey to become Pi, but not enough time on his recovery. It was basically, "I did this, then that, then this, then I was ok. The end." I understood the tones of 'this was not really a journey to become Pi, it was a journey to find myself', but I feel like not enough time was spent on those little portions of becoming himself and who he ended up being for the story to really be about that. We see in the end how he manages to make a living doing artistic things that he loves, but we barely see him doing this artistic talent throughout the book. He talks about the calligraphy maybe twice, he talked about henna once, he spun a lot of wool, and that's about it. The rest was just mentions here and there about having hobbies that were different. I would have gladly traded some details given in the story for more information on how he ended up in the state that he was.
What I particularly enjoyed:
I absolutely loved reading about his time in India. As a child born in a western country to immigrants who were Indian, I really related to a lot of the things he talked about. You spend so much time believing that you're different from the people around you at home, but then you go to the country your family is from, the one where everyone looks like you, and you still don't belong there either. You're different from both cultures. It was really cool to see him experience that too.
I loved reading about his time in Munich and how he made a life for himself there, in this country he had never been to and where he didn't even really speak the language at first.
I liked learning about his family - it's real and raw and honestly I wish we could have had more of that. I feel like there's a lot he left out about his relationships with his family members and how complex it must be. Granted, this requires a level of vulnerability that he may not be comfortable with sharing, and to each their own. But I would have loved to know more about his relationship with his mother after she let the father come home that last time, or his relationship with his sisters considering he said that they weren't very close but he also said that they would band together in the face of their father.
What I didn't care for:
There are.... weird... portions of the book that really made it hard to get through. There are times when he goes on tangents that are unnecessary and sometimes uncomfortable for all the wrong reasons. There were times when there was an odd order in which he told his story. There were some points when I could have done with way less detail, and other times when I could have done with way more detail. The whole point of the book, I had thought, was to tell a story of wanting something with all your heart and soul, not getting it, then how you pick up the pieces afterwards. I have been wanting to read this book for years for this exact reason. But I felt like we spent so much time on his journey to become Pi, but not enough time on his recovery. It was basically, "I did this, then that, then this, then I was ok. The end." I understood the tones of 'this was not really a journey to become Pi, it was a journey to find myself', but I feel like not enough time was spent on those little portions of becoming himself and who he ended up being for the story to really be about that. We see in the end how he manages to make a living doing artistic things that he loves, but we barely see him doing this artistic talent throughout the book. He talks about the calligraphy maybe twice, he talked about henna once, he spun a lot of wool, and that's about it. The rest was just mentions here and there about having hobbies that were different. I would have gladly traded some details given in the story for more information on how he ended up in the state that he was.
March 24, 2020
Most of us know Rajiv Surendra as Kevin Gnapoor from Mean Girls, and it turns out that he is a really interesting person in real life. His memoir is about his quest to land the leading role in the film adaptation of Life of Pi, ultimately not getting cast but growing as a person in the process. He’s the person you know casually, then end up sitting next to at a dinner party and being surprised by all his interests and experiences.
Read
June 6, 2022I became enamored of Surendra during the height pandemic after seeing a video of him giving a tour of his fascinating, and very intentional, NYC apartment. His chalk wall is particularly amazing. He’s a fascinating man. So creative and broad in his interests. A kind ore Renaissance Man, I think. His memoir was enjoyable. I wouldn’t say I loved it, but I liked it and am glad I read it. It uses Surendra’s multi-year effort to get the lead role of Pi in the movie adaptation of the book, “The Life of Pi” (the role ended up going to Suraj Sharma) as a back drop to tell the story of his life. The one thing that gives me pause now about Surendra, having learned more about him, is that, while I appreciate his obvious love of beauty and of beautiful things, it has a downside. There are a couple of points I the book when it seems Surendra struggles with people that aren’t conventionally beautiful, or at least average. There are parts where he’s describing learning how to swim where he borders on unkind in his descriptions of other people (old, fat) who use the pool at the same time he does. I suppose I appreciate his honesty, but there also seemed to be a cruelty almost. Probably stemming from ear or some other issue, but it rubbed me the wrong way. It was a good reminder that people are complex and that we can like most of someone while also having things about them we don’t particularly like.
December 17, 2016
I started following Rajiv's work after I had read an article about his career switch from an actor (notable as mathlete Kevin G in MEAN GIRLS) to a calligrapher and chalkboard artist. His memoir, THE ELEPHANTS IN MY BACKYARD, describes his journey of study to try to get the lead role of LIFE OF PI. From befriending the author to visiting South India, learning how to swim, flying to Maine to interview a survivor who was lost at sea, he strived to achieve a dream that ultimately was not to be. However, these life experiences helped guide him to his discovery of the person he wanted to become.
You can feel Surendra's love of Old World aesthetic from this book, which also features sketches/flourishes by the author. I'd also encourage the reader to check out photos of Surendra's work online at lettersinink.com.
You can feel Surendra's love of Old World aesthetic from this book, which also features sketches/flourishes by the author. I'd also encourage the reader to check out photos of Surendra's work online at lettersinink.com.
May 8, 2017
The endearing story of a Toronto actor (he played Kevin G, the rapping mathlete in Mean Girls!) who dreams of being PI in the film version of Life of PI. He works hazard for six years to get into the part -- he stays in India for a while, he learns to swim, he interviews a shipwreck survivor -- all to make sure he's ready to become PI on the screen. His interest in Pi borders on obsessive at times, but his writing is really sweet, and I understand the frustration of being typecast in particular roles because of your skin colour. I can see how a rich role like PI would be attractive, particularly when the character seems so similar to him. Rajiv is an earnest, likeable narrator -- you can't help but want him to succeed.
He's also a talented calligrapher -- he did the beautiful text on the cover -- and I'm happy that he's found success on this field as well.
He's also a talented calligrapher -- he did the beautiful text on the cover -- and I'm happy that he's found success on this field as well.
September 25, 2016
A moving, funny memoir written by Rajiv Surendra, the actor who played the rapping mathlete Kevin G. in Mean Girls and now works as an accomplished visual artist. This book is a bit about showbiz, but more than that, it's about obsession and passion, about following a dream so long that the journey becomes more important than the destination. Part travelogue, part obsessive quest, part coming-of-age story, this insightful memoir is about finding your roots and learning who you are, while shutting up the voices in your head who say you can't do it.
December 30, 2017
A memoir of a young man? I found that premise intriguing to start. Aren't memoirs for the old to look back over their life? No. This was a lovely book. A story of a particular time in his life when he was chasing the "perfect" role. We know he doesn't get the role before we even pick up the book. But, nonetheless, it was interesting to see his progress and his determination. I especially appreciate how adaptive he is and how dedicated he is to his goal. Oh, to be so focused.
December 26, 2016
3.5 stars. Well written except for sprinkling here and there of comments/tidbits that seemed like gratuitous afterthoughts to seem "edgy/funny." But overall I enjoyed the authors ability to embrace new experiences and people. It was interesting to read his journey since l love Life of Pi (book and movie).
January 11, 2017
I really like Rajiv and his book. He has a dream of playing star role in The Life of Pi. He studies, travels, and strives to be the best for the part. We all know he didn't get his hearts desire, but the struggle to chase his dream and the heartbreak when it goes to another is a great read. Thanks to Goodreads
October 15, 2020
I really enjoyed this book. I thought from the cover, the author starred in the film - I could have quickly verified, but it kept me intrigued. I loved the the idea of not letting a major setback continue to define his life, but rebuilding after that. The way he writes, he presents himself as very kind and thoughtful. I loved the attention to detail in the anecdotes he shared.
December 7, 2016
What a cool fellow! It took me a while to get into this book, but once I did, I loved it. Rajiv sounds like the kind of person I would love to have as a friend. He has so many cool interests! I'm going to have to look at his business website now... :-)
December 26, 2017
I got really thrown by the timeline--something is fudged, and I think it's his age (which isn't in the memoir but he's listed as being born in 1989 from other sources and that doesn't add up--but Surendra's got a solid narrative going on.
March 4, 2017
Got more and more boring.
April 13, 2018
I loved this book, this is a man that I would love to meet. I highly recommend the audible version, the author narrates it, and does an excellent job!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 117 reviews