Book related question - micro flash forwards

[Chris]

Hi everyone,

I have another question, similar to this one (https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...). I'm currently reading A Visit from the Goon Squad and Egan does a great job of keeping the story interesting by inserting a bunch of comments about things that happen 10 or 20 years into the future, without stopping the current scene that is taking place.

For example, "She sat on his sofa. This was twenty years before he would eventually kill himself. The sofa smelled of beer."

What is this called? It's not really a flash forward because the scene is continued, unbroken. The only other place I can think of this occurring is in The Known World. Any other examples or a name for what the technique is called would be appreciated.

[MK]

Is it not foreshadowing? Or is foreshadowing only hinting at the future, instead of telling?

[Chris]

Doh! I meant to mention foreshadowing in my original post as well.

I don't think it counts as foreshadowing either because the information provided never comes up later as something that impacts the story. They are more like throw-away comments that give you a glimpse of the character's future, without it giving you a sense of what will actually happen later in the book.

[MK]

I looked it up after I posted (heh), and you're right, I don't think it's foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is more like hinting.

The Book Thief employed the same literary device. I don't know what it's called. Interesting question tho!

[Dawn]

I love that literary device too. It's stunning when done well. Pretty sure it's just one of the abilities of the omniscient third person narrator.

[Chris]

Dawn, you don't think the device has a name? I agree, when well done, it's amazing. I remember being blown away by how epic The Known World felt because Jones was constantly jumping around to give updates on what happened in various decades while never breaking from the story.

[Dawn]

Chris, I totally agree. It can be quite haunting sometimes. It's given me chills before. I know for sure that an omniscient third person narrator can do it but I'm not sure if that exact device has a name. I just tried Google but didn't come up with anything useful.