comment on structure

The first thing readers may notice about this novel’s structure is the sheer number of chapters. There are 137 chapters, but on average each one is only a few pages long. This gives the effect of speeding up the novel and raising the stakes as something important is revealed in almost every chapter. Virtually every chapter ends on some kind of cliff hanger, which keeps the reader’s interest. Mastai can also use this to his advantage, making chapters longer when he wants the momentum to slow down. For instance, Chapter 124 is considerably longer than most of the others, and it is depicting Tom moving backward in real time for 51 years. By including a longer chapter within shorter ones, Mastai mirrors Tom’s sensation of slowly making a trip through time.