I listened to the audio CD, which until the end I hugely loved ... The ending is a serious literary error. Gratutitious, sophomoric. It wouda took GUTs for Martel to just end his fabulous story when Pi beaches on Mexico's shore, wrap up his relocation to Canada, and just humbly GO AWAY. But Martel. IMO, indulged. He meddled. Coudn't leave well enuf alone. The Japanses guys are a silly ploy, and the alternate story Pi offers them, IMO, was material that came from an earlier draft--material Martel just coudn't let go of--and perhaps began the earlier draft, all aboard the lifeboat dying--"And I alone survived", a la Job--and then the adventures of the lone survivor begin. Tacking all this nonsense on at the end makes a anticlimatic point, if at all, and BREAKS THE SPELL SO WONDEFULLY SPUN! It's okay, Yann, to just tell an inspired story and just get OUT OF THE WAY!