They act childish and feeble
The correct answer is complement.
Like you wrote above, to complete is when you make something whole. Complement is something that completes your collection. The bronze statue completed her collection perfectly, which is why it was a good complement. Somebody can give her a compliment on her complement, however, meaning that he or she can praise the statue. :)
They are the author's memories and impressions with the man he based Life of Pi off of. If you read the introduction(which is all in italics) he talks about how he came to write the book, and one thing the author mentions is the first meeting of real-life Piscine. So while the story is going on, the author adds in his thoughts on the main character.
-ventilator??
-vault?
ummm hahah do those count?
