It is essential to the success of any form of entertainment, regardless of medium, to be able to capture the interest of the intended audience. Kurt Palka does this perfectly in his novel The Piano Maker, creating constant suspense, so that the reader always wants to know what will happen next. This effect is achieved by using literary features such as setting, foreshadowing, and flashbacks. Kurt Palka masterfully uses these literary devices in his novel to construct a compelling plot that has high emotional stakes, tension, and suspense. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The main setting of the novel is Saint Homais, a small, quiet town on the French coast of Nova Scotia. This setting symbolizes a new beginning for Helene, a peaceful and calm place, far from her tumultuous past life. This is why there is such a profound effect on the reader when a local policeman tells her the following: “I have here before me a warrant to serve and arrest. You will be held based on new evidence relating to the unnatural death of Mr. Nathan Homewood. . .” (Palka 59). In the early parts of the book, Helene is adapting to her new surroundings and settling into her new life in Saint Homais. Almost the entire city welcomes her with warmth and love. When the revelation comes out that she might be a killer, the crisis devastates her entire world. Everything he worked so hard to build in his new life comes crashing down. The city that had once welcomed her so kindly is now mostly cold and distant towards her. Because the reader understands the overwhelming effect the murder accusation has on her, and how desperately Helene wants to prove her innocence, this raises the emotional stakes for the reader and allows the suspense and tension to be more powerful. The author uses foreshadowing very heavily. throughout the book as he slowly reveals more about Helene's past to the reader. One example of foreshadowing that particularly stands out is when Helene has a nightmare about the accident involving Nathan. This dream foreshadows the novel's central plot and climax, but it is carefully worded in a way that keeps the reader uncertain and eager for more. The passage provides small passages describing the incident, such as a cave of horror, darkness, and blood in the snow. Then the author begins to allude to a so-called “outcome” of the incident as the narrator says, “By now he knew the outcome well. . . It came on mercilessly, like the blows on a terrified child, and only rarely did she wake up before it happened. But that night he did.”(Palka 11). The author leaves things as they are and does not describe what the “result” is. Throughout this passage, the author's tone is vague, avoiding going into details of the incident. The choice of words focuses on the inconsistent sensations Helene is experiencing in her nightmare instead of painting a clear picture. In this way, the author is able to create suspense, and this foreshadowing leaves the reader anxious until the entire truth about the incident is revealed. The novel constantly jumps back and forth between Helene's past and present through a plethora of flashbacks. . These flashbacks form a separate plot about Helene's past that ends up merging into the present-day plot. The way Palka skillfully uses flashbacks is able to allow the two plots to integrate with each other, which in turn increases the suspense. The two plots begin to merge soon after a flashback to Helene's past related to the accident. Then the plot..., 2015.