The Book Thief 2

Mark Zusack, the author of The Book Thief, uses flashbacks and flash forwards through the story. This manipulation of time helps develop characters and the reader's interest. This is a big part of the story so far and it is really good to read because it does make things much more interesting and it is a nice change up to throw the flashbacks in there. The manipulation of time helps because it makes me appreciate events unfolding the story in a more enlightened way. By using the flash-forward the author is preparing me what is ahead so I will not be so shocked. The first flash forward that takes place is when there is a predication that someone will die on the train. This event leads to a question upon myself as to who this person who would be dying was. I then later found out who it was and I was shocked. It was shocking because it was Liesel's brother. The use of flashbacks in this story is used to inform the reader on what has happened that we are unaware of. An example of the author’s use of flashbacks is the Jesse Owens incident. Rudy painted himself black and came in first in running a race and Hitler was against everyone besides Germans. When Rudy was telling Liesel this story, Liesel had felt that she had actually been there. This flashback helped give me a better understanding of how Liesel felt and I would not have known how she felt if the author did not use the flashback. There are other techniques that are used, as in every story. But the flashbacks and flash forwards are very important to this story. Like I said before they enhance your knowledge of what is going on. They are able to tell you what has happened in the past and inform you on the future. Being informed on the future braces the impact of there being a crazy surprise that comes out of nowhere and then having the readers completely be lost and not like the book anymore. I believe this is a pretty good book so far and I am looking forward to continue reading on.