Per Olov Enquist: A Critical Study

Ross Shideler offers an in-depth introduction to the works of Per Olov Enquist and discusses the writer’s central themes and the imagery and motifs he uses to develop them. This in-depth study begins with a brief introduction to the social and literary backgrounds that are the foundations for Enquist’s writing. His work is presented in chronological fashion beginning with his early psychological novels written in the tradition of the French nouveau roman and proceeding to his highly regarded documentary novels and popular plays. Shideler traces Enquist’s fascination with modern man’s isolation and his attempt to find connections in history to explain the dilemma. Other psychological, social, and political themes are examined and analyzed in this first critical study concentrating entirely on Enquist’s work.