The other day in class, we talked about how the author used suspense in the story "Fattening for Gabon". We were discussing how the first line gives the story away and "kills" the suspense. Yet, as I was reading I found this story to be the most gripping we've read so far and definitely the story I needed to keep reading. Even in Sorrow of War, when the story was incredibly mysterious and left many questions unanswered throughout, I was still more focused on Kien's internal struggle whereas in Fattening for Gabon, I wanted to know what was going to happen next in the story. I think this related to another topic we discussed, which was the narrator not putting any reflective element on the story. There was one line however, towards the end, where the narrator says "If I only I had known what was to come". It's really the first indication of the him reflecting at all.
In the beginning when the narrator gives away the ending, it's almost like a prologue. I found this website that talks about the use of a prologue. It refers to Romeo and Juliet which is interesting because both give away the great tragedy of the story.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-prologue.htm
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