The author Michael Frayn has used many different devices in order to sustain the tension in the novel "Spies"

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What devices does Michael Frayn employ to sustain the tension in the novel?

The author Michael Frayn has used many different devices in order to sustain the tension in the novel "Spies", an example of some of these techniques are the settings, characters, themes and language techniques including powerful descriptive passages, use of tenses and the questions the reader finds themselves asking constantly throughout the novel. All these play a different part in sustaining the tension, and collectively all develop anticipation in the text.

The language techniques that have been used play a crucial role in holding the suspense during the novel. In the very first chapter the reader can already find themselves asking questions about what will be happening later on in the novel, since they already begin to try and piece his memories and clues together to obtain the full story. From the beginning the reader is being pulled into the tale by Michael Frayn's techniques of only providing the audience with snip-it's of what's happening, keeping the tension, and constantly building it up. Short sentences are used throughout the novel to increase tension as they produce pauses in text, making the reader stop and slow