Abstrakt
The work of contemporary British author Simon Mawer is characterised by his penchant for historical themes and by the role he assigns to the settings of his novels, which not only complement and echo their thematic focus and narrative structure, but also reflect the protagonists' psyches and the workings thereof. In order to present and interpret the unique qualities of the literary landscapes in the first of his spy novels: The Girl Who Fell From The Sky (2012), set in second-world-war France, geocriticism is employed as both theoretical framework and practice.
As the resulting analysis of the novel reveals, Mawer's ability to merge his protagonists' mental processes with the rendering of space intensifies the sense of unease, suspense and agitation typical for the genre.