Förlorad mark
(Lost Ground)
by Frans Wachtmeister
reviewed by Henry Jeppesen
Frans Wachtmeister has lived in Japan for ten years and was inspired to write a novel about a Swedish ex-pat who had also lived in the country for several years. The main character in this novel loves Japan and everything about it (or used to, at least!), including the food, and works for a prestigious British-owned headhunting firm, but he is facing dismissal due to not finding enough candidates for local major employers. He talks about how much he loves the country and is very apprehensive about the Japanese authorities finding him and deporting him back to Sweden. At one stage, he is at a very low ebb and thinks of ending it all by turning his kerosene stove in his flat on full. What’s more, his Japanese girlfriend leaves him to go and lecture at a university in Paris.
After he leaves his job, he ends up staying with a sculptor friend of his who he studied with at college and takes up sculpture himself. Unfortunately, his friend Bunta has dealings with the Japanese mafia, and there is nearly a hairy moment or two when a passer-by interrupts a transaction between Bunta and his nefarious mafia acquaintance. He takes his chance when it comes to prolonging his existence in Japan one last time by trying to seduce a former work colleague with the idea of (eventually) having a child, thus being able to stay in Japan, but does he succeed? Unfortunately not…
Frans Wachtmeister writes from experience, and it is pleasing to learn that he has had a more successful time and experience of living and working in Japan than the protagonist in his second novel. He writes eloquently of how it is to be a gaijin in the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’, and how Japanese people are attracted to people from other countries. He also writes of identity, regret and guilt, three pervading themes in his book, as well as casual racism and chauvinism evinced by some of the characters in the book.
Japan is a very interesting place. I’ve been there myself and many ‘Westerners’ visit the country every year. Although it is true that many travellers take their prejudices with them when they travel, there are others who keep an open mind, and are ready to encounter the myriad differences between different cultures. Frans Wachtmeister seems to have had a slightly more positive experience of the country than his creation; but in spite of this, many people will be drawn to this book about someone who doesn’t exactly have a whale of a time in their adopted country, yet remains fascinated by it, and wants to stay there for as long as possible.
Förlorad mark
Ellerströms förlag 2025, 254 pages
Foreign rights: Albatros Agency
Frans Wachtmeister lives in Tokyo. His first novel, Territoriella anspråk (Territorial Claims), was published in 2023 to critical acclaim. Förlorad mark (Lost Ground) is his second novel. It has been nominated for the European Union Literature Prize.