OnlineBookClub.org

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?

I agree with you. Seeing the punishments, harassments and harsh behaviour towards slaves, it is difficult to believe that this can happen in the slave era. I also think master the piano only based on sharp memory is very difficult.

The author did a very good job of making the story as realistic as possible. However, some parts are difficult to imagine, especially the main characters' relationship in that era.

I couldn't question how the author interpreted such ordeals because the author did well in this case. Violence, cruelty, and humiliation did definitely occur during the slave era, as evidenced by a number of witnesses. On the other hand, the author's characterization of each character was occasionally off-putting, which I found implausible.

Although the book covered some of the harsh things slaves faced at that time, it wasn't quite a lot. I kind of questioned how James and Lily were into each other, seeing as they were childhood best friends, I let that pass. But Lily's ability to play piano without any lessons, on the other hand, I found a bit unrealistic.

To a reasonable extent, I think I find the story to be realistic. The author did a good job of representing the slave era through Lily's character, although some facts and scenes were quite hard to imagine.

I totally agree with you, and I thought about the same thing while I read. Lily should have been too scared to even attempt playing those codes., regardless of her masters' absence.

I think you have got a point here. I agree with you. Though the author has done a great job in representing the slave era, there are few shortcomings and some parts of the book seem to be too unrealistic. That could have been improved.

The author did a wonderful job in trying to make the major and minor characters as realistic as possible. However, Lily sneaking to play piano in his masters house whenever he was away is not that realistic, especially in the era of slave trading.

The way slave masters treated the slaves in that era was too harsh for a slave to even think of sneaking into his master's house to play the piano. I praise the ability of the author to make the book as near reality as possible. Still, that act of Lily and her ability to play the piano without prior lessons made the whole narration imbalance.

The plot was very realistic. This stories are not far-fetched the happened during the slave era. I used Lily's story to imagine what it felt like to be slave. James' story made me understand what loving a slave was like

The author did a great job to make the story realistic and it felt realistic most of the time. But there were some instances which are hard to believe like the harsh punishments in the slave era and the relationships.

I belive that stories are bound to be a little unrealistic and based on extraordinary coincidences or sheer luck. The author has done a good job on keeping the book realistic while putting in a few rare traits and situations as well, like Lily's inherent musical skills.

Overall the author did a great job of making the story realistic although some parts were a little more far fetched such as the piano playing and the characters relationships.

I found the relationship between Lilly and James unrealistic for the era. However, as for Lilly knowing how to play the piano without lessons is perfectly realistic because there are people who are naturally inclined to play the piano 'by ear.' I actually know several personally. Some people just have a God-given talent for music.