In his novels this attitude shows through in his use of terms such as ‘the great longing’, an almost provocatively high-flown title that we are nevertheless meant to take seriously. Here the search for identity, for a past, has been detached from a specifically Jewish context, in contrast to his first novel Mendel’s Inheritance. More prominent this time is Möring’s idea of life as an Exodus (banishment from a protected youth is symbolised by the parents’ fatal car accident) followed by an Odyssey, a journey that draws a person inexorably towards the place he is destined to occupy in the world.

It is a minor miracle that Möring manages to handle these themes without moralizing or sounding woolly. The images and dialogues are vivid and true to life, proof of a passionate and authentic writing talent.