ABSTRACT
Such a world, with its sense of lost meaning and of a lost identity, is a recurring theme in many of Wijkmark’s later books, such as Red and Black (1976) and The Inspection Trolley (1983).2 But there are other main themes featured in his first novel which also appear in later works. One such theme is Wijkmark’s fascination with history, not only with more contemporary history such as that of Nazi Germany, but also with history as a cultural and human manifestation in general. Wijkmark seems especially intrigued by the tension between the strength and power of history, on the one hand, and the loss of identity inherent in modern man, on the other.
