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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
In this hypnotic 1967 Danish novella, translated 1969 by Sylvia Clayton, well-to-do doom preppers holed up in the specially-outfitted seaside resort of Termush tentatively emerge from their fallout shelters into a world “changed less than a summer thunderstorm would have changed it,” or so it appears. Management takes impressive precautions against the invisible miasma of radiation and doles out the comforts of home. Soft music plays over speakers while the guests tamp down their incomprehension, desperate for normalcy amidst a pervasive uncertainty that invades their dreams. Then the first outsider arrives. Post-pandemic readers may nod with recognition at such uncanny details as contact tracing, seemingly arbitrary threat levels, distrust of medical authorities, and the rise of a xenophobic “chairman” whose “powerful obstinacy… primitive blend of cunning and stupidity attracts supporters to rally round behind him,” even as he opines that “an inspired lie could be preferred to a malignant truth.” Holm’s enigmatic fable deftly imagines from the inside out what may become of our fragile societal and mental constructs when the world as we knew it is gone, placing it alongside such other psychologically-acute post-apocalyptic rediscoveries as Marlen Haushhofer’s THE WALL and Kay Dick’s THEY.
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
No one wakes up refreshed. Coffee and rolls are brought round.
A quick, lonely read for people who like JG Ballard (or maybe Kurt Vonnegut's Galápagos). Can be finished in one sitting and pairs well with Persistent repetition of phrases by the Caretaker.
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
