TORONTO - Saskatoon author Yann Martel releases his highly anticipated follow-up to the Booker Prize-winning "Life of Pi" today.
"Beatrice & Virgil" follows an author named Henry as he helps a strange taxidermist write a Holocaust-themed play that features a donkey named Beatrice and a monkey called Virgil.
Martel says he's had the idea for "Beatrice & Virgil" since 2001, when "Life of Pi" was published to international acclaim.
He says it took him so long to write the new novel in part because of the success of "Life of Pi" and also due to the difficult subject matter.
The author describes the writing process for "Beatrice & Virgil" as "artistically challenging" and "quite a torturous process."
He also admits that some of the writing challenges Henry faces in "Beatrice & Virgil" are similar to his own.
"Beatrice & Virgil" is Martel's third novel. "The Life of Pi," which won the Man Booker Prize in 2002, has caught the eye of director Ang Lee, who has plans to make it into a movie.
