What Makes The Cellist of Sarajevo post-modern?

The Cellist of Sarajevo is littered with ways that it can be considered post-modern, Three examples were used in my essay relating to the novel.

Technology: The book is written about how a town is affected by war, this in itself is a post-modern trait. War is considered an example of technology, and is what the book is generally about. Throughout the novel, there are many uses of war, including the mortar attack on people waiting in line to buy bread. In response to this attack, the cellist will play his cello in the creator for twenty-two days; one day for every person killed. An example of technology in this novel is the mortar attack hitting the bakery at the beginning of the novel.

A mortar being fired

“It screams downward, splitting air and sky without effort. A target expands in size, brought into focus by time and velocity. There is a moment before impact that is the last instant of things as they are. Then the visible world explodes.”

This is an example of technology in the novel. The quote uses imagery to show the shell falling from the sky preparing the impact the bakery.

Points of View: This novel is written different than most other novels. Instead of progressing by chapters, and many scattered stories; the novel progresses by individual stories of how each character was separately affected by war. Offering many different points of view on the war, and how it is affecting the town.

My interpretation of what Arrow may look like

Woman as a main character: Arrow is a main character in the novel, and is one of the most interesting to read. She is a sniper working for the town, and was hired to protect the cellist. The fact the she is so heavily included in the novel, and that it follows her independent story makes this a post-modern trait.

These are the three main area’s I have decided to concentrate on. Aside from this there are many more examples that exist in the novel making is heavily post-modern.