The novel Ikaros by Axel Jensen as an example of road literature in Norwegian prose of the 1950s

The aim of this article is to present the novel Ikaros by Axel Jensen as an example of road literaturein Norwegian prose of the 1950s. Analysis of the book, which is set in Algeria in 1953/54 and hasbiographical overtones, is conducted in relation to themes of history, adventure, ethnography,mysticism and mythology. It is also shown against the background of the development of Norwegianliterature in the 1950s, in connection with its most important writers and phenomena,and highlights some of the mythical symbols and archetypes that are embedded in Europeanliterature and culture. Additionally, it shows – in a prophetic way – how the identificationof the novel’s main protagonist with the symbol of Icarus was fulfilled in the author’s later life.