Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Suicide
For a book written in 1967 I felt that it was quite timeless, we have a nameless narrator that narrate to us his experience in the Termush, a kind of hotel with a bunker bellow, the world has fallen victim to a radiative fallout, but as our narrator starts to tell us the story radiation levels are almost normal, but is it really like that? The management of the hotel are like a very authoritative government where the people (guest) can’t really change the outcome of the things… Soon enough there’s a threat that comes from the unknown, the people that survived the fallout… and to know more I advice you all to get a copy and see for yourself.
I did like this Novella, I did like to learn things with our main character, what I didn’t like that much, was the ending, I felt it was rushed and ended in a cliffhanger, but without a continuation that is pointless… for me it is a solid 3,4 stars, is still worth reading.
Thank you NetGalley and Faber and Faber Ltd for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.
I did like this Novella, I did like to learn things with our main character, what I didn’t like that much, was the ending, I felt it was rushed and ended in a cliffhanger, but without a continuation that is pointless… for me it is a solid 3,4 stars, is still worth reading.
Thank you NetGalley and Faber and Faber Ltd for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
medium-paced
dark
medium-paced
Very bleak but believable insights into human nature in the face of catastrophe.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really interesting examination of hoarding wealth when life is pushed to the brink. I think a hotel is a great forum for what the book tries to discuss as even now (many) hotels serve as a fictional reality where the rich can escape. The book feels entirely relevant to today despite being 60 years old, and the questions of how to cope with social collapse are ones we struggle with every day (not to mention how those coping mechanisms are intertwined with wealth).
dark
reflective
sad
fast-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
The whole question of human morality in 100 pages
dark
emotional
slow-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
This book was a recommendation and so I was excited to be taken out of my comfort zone and into a genre I would never sample on my own.
Unfortunately, the foreword by Jeff Vandermeer does a disservice by fawning over detail, sophistication, and intrigue that just aren't there. I was ready for subtle social commentary given Holm's history as a writer; what I got was writing that was instead over-simplified and bland. The reliance on contrasting the wealthy Termush guests from "strangers" was overwrought. It was akin to painting "Capitalism is bad" on the side of a truck; true enough but without artistry.
I expected a Lovecraftian reckoning with the "invisible horrors" of a nuclear disaster (albeit, without the racism). Unfortunately, there is no plot and so the inexorable advance of doom didn't seize me emotionally. Users of StoryGraph will know they are asked to assess whether each read is based on plot, character development, or both. "Termush" ticks none of those boxes; it is about an idea, and that idea is so poorly developed that I'm not sure what I came away with after finishing this book.
Even allowing for atrophy due to translation, or an under-appreciation of linguistic norms of the day, the prose lacks strength. I admire the attempt by FSG with this one, but they missed the mark.
Unfortunately, the foreword by Jeff Vandermeer does a disservice by fawning over detail, sophistication, and intrigue that just aren't there. I was ready for subtle social commentary given Holm's history as a writer; what I got was writing that was instead over-simplified and bland. The reliance on contrasting the wealthy Termush guests from "strangers" was overwrought. It was akin to painting "Capitalism is bad" on the side of a truck; true enough but without artistry.
I expected a Lovecraftian reckoning with the "invisible horrors" of a nuclear disaster (albeit, without the racism). Unfortunately, there is no plot and so the inexorable advance of doom didn't seize me emotionally. Users of StoryGraph will know they are asked to assess whether each read is based on plot, character development, or both. "Termush" ticks none of those boxes; it is about an idea, and that idea is so poorly developed that I'm not sure what I came away with after finishing this book.
Even allowing for atrophy due to translation, or an under-appreciation of linguistic norms of the day, the prose lacks strength. I admire the attempt by FSG with this one, but they missed the mark.