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Lily and the Octopus,
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Jo-Ann Duff
Haven't we all come home from work and spoken to our cat to ask if they want dinner, or if the dog wants to go for a walk? We all chat to our pets when you think about it, and in our head we hear the answers.
Deb Miller
I especially love it when she talks like Cate Blanchett. :-)
Elizabeth E Sedillo
Not so much imagining it as creating a fun life for them in his head, rather than facing that he's lonely. Its adorable tho.
Ulla Saar
Wel, if plastic sharks can talk then dogs can definitely talk....
Brynn
This answer contains spoilers…
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Karen Stanton
I don't think of him as mentally ill or bitter - he just lives alone and really loves his dog. He says in the book that he learns to love through her, and he says later in the book that he understands that she couldn't really play Monopoly, etc...
He imagines what Lily would say.
He imagines what Lily would say.
Jenni DaVinCat
I sort of interpreted the narrator as having a mental illness, and so to him, Lily and the Octopus are actually speaking to him. He doesn't seem to be able to differentiate between that and people, and he acts like it's perfectly rational. I'm getting a lot more out of this book approaching it from the perspective of reading about a person with a mental illness as opposed to a lonely, bitter individual.
Danielle
Yes, all animals talk to us if we listen. But Lily can even play Monopoly. It's a tale....
Erin English
To her human companion, yes, she talks. That’s what I choose to believe.
Kim Ledford
No the protagonist makes it up
Miss Bookiverse
It depends on your interpretation. If you look at it in a very realistic no-nonsense way, no, she can't talk but if you're willing to let go a little, yeah, she does talk :)
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