Abstract
Graham Swift's ninth novel, Wish You Were Here (2011), assumes a specific position in the body of its author's work. After Tomorrow (2007), in Wish You Were Here Swift reverts to the tradition of his earlier works which all revolve around his idiosyncratic themes and motifs, such as personal and collective history, the relationship between the past and the present, loss, recovery and confession, coming to terms with a troublesome past and the role of memory in this process, the relationship between reality, history and fiction, the importance of telling stories, and the significance, but also inherent fragility, of intimate human relationships.
The central device that most often triggers the exploration and contemplation of these thematic concerns is a traumatic experience in the past which the protagonist gradually strives to disclose and, by transforming it into a narrative, is able to cast some light on what may appear as unforeseen or unreasonable acts. Focusing on the treatment of trauma and its symptoms in Wish You Were Here, this article attempts to show how the novel both relates to Swift's preceding works and addresses this theme in a distinct manner.