To this writer, Berger’s Ninon is much easier to relate to than Bolden from Ondaatje’s novel. Ninon is only twenty-five years old and dreams every girl’s dream: to love and be loved, to bear children, and live a happy life. Even though love has been fulfilled through Gino, her life will be painful and cut short: “I am going to die” (198). Imagine the devastation in knowing only a quarter of one’s life can be lived out. Because of her illness, Ninon is also robbed of the jo

The Ondaatje passage is to the point and very matter-of-fact. It is not superfluous with words and lacks description. The sentences are short, choppy, and sometimes incomplete: “Rose early”, “Place was noisy”, “Some isolation blocks”. The passage is overly structured and the font is smaller than the rest of the novel generating a feeling of unwelcoming and coldness. Ondaatje’s decision to show what Bolden’s life has been reduced to through a sort of timetable entitled “Typical Day” is seemingly emotionless. Upon reflection however, this passage encourages the reader to pity Bolden. There is an ache in the reader’s heart after realizing that this meticulous, monotonous life is in stark contrast to the unstructured and colourful life that was once lead by Bolden. As a musician, structure was far from existence in his life. Jazz itself is a very improvised form of music with only a few loose guidelines. Ondaatje has cleverly and triumphantly said more by saying less in this passage. It is so different to who Bolden was before he went crazy that the reader is forced to feel uncomfortable and aware of these differences. Berger chooses to fragment time and show glimpses of Ninon’s future while the wedding banquet festivities continue. While the banquet is a happy gathering celebrating the union of loved ones, the snippets of Ninon’s future are not happy ones. It is inevitable that she suffers and this suffering is so shocking and heartbreaking for the reader after reading about happier time

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