"I began to notice the changes a bit later on--in the matter of rations, first and foremost. I and the others could only speculate how the era of half-loaves could have flown by so swiftly; into it's place, at all events, irreversibly stepped into the era of thirds and quaters, even the Zulage was no longer always an absolute certainty. That is also when the train came to a standstill altogether. I tried to look ahead, but the prospect stratched only to tomorrow, while tomorrow was an identical day, that is to say, another day exactly the same as today--in the best case, of course. My zest dwindled, my drive dwindled, every day it was that little bit harder to get up, every day I turned in for sleep that little bit wearier. I was that little bit hungrier, found it took that little bit more effort to walk, somehow everything started to become harder, with me becoming a burden even to myself. I (all of us I dare say) was no longer absolutley always a good prisoner, and we were soon able to recognize the reflections of this, of course, in the soldiers, not to speak of our own functionaries, and among these, if only by virtue of his rank, the Lageraltester."
Pg 149

I thought this passage was absolutley amazing!! I love the way Irme Kertesz worded it, and i also thought that this was one of the few parts of the book that actually revealed to you how hard life was in the concentration camp. i don't know why i love this part so much, but i've read it over and over again, and it still strikes me as one of the best, maybe the best part of the book. i know it sounds kind of weird, but i really like the sentence structure, the way that he made something that could have been just another ordinary part of the book stand out by changing the way he put it. today, we were talking about imagery, and how it made a book really interesting. i think this book lacks a little in imagery, but i also think it makes up for it in the vocabulary and sentence structure. christine and cassandra, just incase we don't have a long enough presentation for next friday, we could use this passage aswell.
-megan
ps.please tell me what you think of this passage, and if it's just me who thinks that it's terrific