Is Pi Patel's story honest in Yann Martel's Life of Pi?

The other posted answer to the student's question—"Is Pi Patel's story honest in Yann Martel's Life of Pi"—addresses this issue quite well. The selected quotes capture the essence of the story well, as does the accompanying analysis. There is often in literature a sense that capturing the essence of a true story is sufficient to convey the author's meaning. A certain amount of fictionalization is necessary for dramatic purposes. Historical novels and films very often use poetic license as a justification for distorting the truth. Dramatization, after all, is the idea, not the plain, dry facts of an actual situation or individual. It is for this reason that I have selected the following passage from the final section of Life of Pi, in which the protagonist is addressing his interrogators' questions about the veracity of his story:

"I know what you want. You want a story that won't surprise you. That will confirm what you already know. That won't make you see higher or further or differently. You want a flat story. An immobile story. You want dry, yeastless factuality."

There can be a legitimate distinction between "honesty" and "factuality." As the other educator's response notes, only Pi knows with absolute certainty what parts, if any, of his narrative are factual and which are embellishments or complete fabrications. The "truth" usually lies somewhere in between. Pi's story involving animals clearly leans heavily toward the unbelievable, but who are we, the readers, to indict his credibility simply because we believe that story to be false? The story with animals, however, rings false precisely because of the circumstances of his life on that boat. The tragedy of the ship's sinking and consequent loss of his family followed by a long period at sea in a tiny boat on a vast ocean under the beating sun would traumatize most of us. Trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder, can certainly distort perceptions of reality. Pi may have imagined the animals out of a need to keep his mind focused during his long sojourn, and his interest in animals, as with Martel himself, is obviously real. To Pi, the animals may have been real because his mind tricked him into believing the animals were real. Alternatively, he may have consciously fabricated the animals to, as he states, make his story more entertaining. 
Pi's story is honest. It is honest because it accurately captures the essence of the individual. It is almost certainly not, however, the truth. 

There is no way to know if Pi is telling an honest story or not.  In fact, that is the very question that Pi and author Martel leave readers with at the end of the book.  Pi is being interviewed about the sinking of the ship and the following 227 days.  He narrates two stories.  One is with animals and is full of amazing things.  It is practically unbelievable.  The other story contains none of those things, but it is more believable.  Pi boldly asks the interviewer which story he likes better.  Pi points out that the factual details did not change in either story, and the investigators can't prove which version is the true version.  They have to take his word for it. 

"So tell me, since it makes no factual difference to you and you can't prove the question either way, which story do you prefer? Which is the better story, the story with animals or the story without animals?"

Because of that single quote, I do not think that Pi is a completely honest story teller.  I believe that he is honest when it comes to telling the cold hard facts.  

"In both stories the ship sinks, my entire family dies, and I suffer."

Beyond that though, I think much of the story is imaginative embellishment on the part of Pi.