History

The theme of history is used to explore the impossibility of reconstructing events from the past in a way that is entirely objective. This theme is introduced in Chapter 1 when Saul listens to Wolfgang, the man who has just hit Saul with his car while he is crossing Abbey Road. Wolfgang tells Saul: “I apologize… You walked on to the crossing and I slowed down, preparing to stop, but then you changed your mind and walked back to the kerb [sic]… And then without warning you lurched forward on to the crossing” (3). This is the first description of the nature of the accident that the reader receives, but it is immediately undercut by Saul in the narration, who reflects: “I smile at his careful reconstruction of history, blatantly told in his favour” (3). Saul feels that Wolfgang is unfairly manipulating his retelling of events in order to...