To what extent do you find the book realistic?

[Bridgette C 2]

I believe the author made some parts of the story realistic. There are also other people whom I notice cannot believe Lily learning to play the piano by herself. I find it realistic though because if one has a will to learn, he/she has the inclination to do so.

[Charlize Venter]

Well, as to you topic, I do not find the book very realistic in an overall sense.
The first thing that caught my attention was, as you mentioned, Lily's ability to reproduce songs through only hearing them alongside with her, so-called, 'photographic memory. Yes, this young girl as brilliant gift that is also a curse in many was, but it’s unrealistic in the sense that if her memory was truly photographic it would likely not extend to the interactions between audible and photographic elements. It’s simply a step too far. Photographic memory is taken far out of context in popular society, and, unfortunately, in the the book too.

I absolutely hear your opinion on giving credit where credit is due in terms of acknowledging the innate and incredible talents and genius that was already present in the slaves despite their inhumane treatment and being denied the education most of the world has today.
When one looks at it in this light, it does strip the text of that realism.
I must also add the idea that such books have been written before( take for example Whitehead's novel The Underground Railroad, or The Story of an African Farm), more realistic accounts of the talents and genius that is present in humanity (concerning the historic times of slavery), regardless of race or class or whatever other excuses where thrown around.
This said, I have the idea that Lily was imbued with this magnificent, and over exaggerated, talent in order to open the reader up to the greatnesses that transcends race, not just those assigned to those who usually get the credit.
But, as you’ve said, it really is a tad too much... to say it lightly. I was not to fond of the book. It felt like it was much too predictable.

[Marija Savic]

Lily and James spent a lot of time together as children. They have their old oak tree, creek, turtle, and birthday. If that's possible, then Lily wasn't under constant surveillance. Then it is possible to sneak in and play the piano. All of these events really hang on some edge, but I think the author masterfully blended them together and made the story as realistic as possible.

[Amenrodion]

I think this book was very idealistic with very little bit of realism. How realistic is it that a slave falls in love with slave owner or the slave will risk certain punitive measures to play the piano. But I feel its idealism is what makes the book readable

[Oyedele Tomijane]

I agree with you on this point. From Lily's initial meek character and the slave codes, even childhood curiosity cannot compensate for the daring and guts it would take to constantly flout the rules that way. And although I agree that there certainly are genius piano players, being completely self-taught with no mentors is quite unrealistic. Despite these flaws, the author did a good job of depicting how dehumanizing and brutal slavery was.

[Aly Smith]

I find it hard to believe this is a realistic environment. In this time era, Lily was property - nothing more. James would never be able to look at her as something more than less than what he is. You cannot build a relationship when the two parties are not equal, or close to equal.

[Akangbe Opeyemi]

I find the story about a master and a slave in a relationship a little realistic. I have read some histories about the slave era. Though the relationship might prove difficult to achieve, I still believe it is realistic

[QualityAndQuantity]

The author tried their best to portray the story in the most realistic way possible, some parts of it were still too much to be real. Like how Lily was able to play the piano so well without even getting any lessons or training.

[Jennifer Garcia 555]

Lily’s talent for music is believable since there are really people that can play like her. Her relationship with James and William is also believable because there were people who did not judge based on your skin color. The part I found hard to believe is how embraced she was by so many for her music. I feel that the excepting people were few and far between.

[OTrain Disene]

It was very realistic to me. Even though slavery was hard and anguish for the masses, that doesn't mean there wasn't that one person who dared to do something was prohibited of them. And Lily was just the person. This shows how brave she was to chase her dream, regardless of the circumstances.

[Mariam K 7]

Your opinion on the exaggeration of the facts is relevant and agreeable to me. The part where Lily enters the house and plays the piano is really devoid of reality, especially in the era of the slave trade, it took a lot of courage and risk. But nonetheless, the moment I mentioned was still a pleasure for me to read.

[Guda Lydia]

I don't know. The slave era was quite brutal but I think it is realistic for Lilly to be brave and sneak behind her master's back. As a strong personality, I guess she would need an outlet. I am not fully convinced one could learn the intricacies of piano playing without some sort of at least basic training. Also, the time for such a relationship in the era is plausible but still hard to envision. Overall it is 50-50 for me.

[Josie Wert]

Multiple sources of literature portray the slave trade era as not only physically overwhelming but also mentally anguishing as well. It, therefore, beats logic that Lily dared to sneak and play her master's piano whenever he was away. Her lack of music background further dents her excellent ability to play the codes out of her mnemonic abilities. Do you think the author should have at least made the few achievements of the slaves quite realistic? Which other episodes do you find as an outright contrast to the slave trade era?

The only part that I found unrealistic was how William and James were able to present Lily and her show that many times and have it so widely known without more input from the law. There’s no way Jesse wouldn’t have had his fingers in Lily’s musical affairs before she got invited to Buckingham Palace. I think on the slavery/law side, Jesse should’ve been more problematic, because there’s no realistic way Lily was playing sold out arenas and being invited to England and he didn’t hear about her show until the end of the book.

[Suzer6440 xyz]

This book was, for the most part , well put together and realistic. That being said, I still find it difficult to imagine some aspects of the story

[NancyDrew12]

I think Lilys artistic ability was very realistic. I also find her relationship with James to be realistic. I think it was very common for slave owners to fall in love with one of their slaves. Though of course they wouldn't be as bold to say that. But Lilys first show and reveal was unrealistic to me.