Termush (Faber Editions): 'A classic―stunning, dangerous, darkly beautiful' (Jeff VanderMeer)

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At first, things proceed as normally as could be expected after a nuclear war. The guests are comfortable, there's plenty of food, though there are alarms when excessive radiation levels are monitored and the guests have to go down to the shelters. I absolutely fell in love with the more political and moral elements of this story, and found it really highlights the journey of self-discovery once everything you thought you knew about yourself is stripped away from you.

One of the guests suggested that the reconnaissance men’s reports should be transmitted direct via the hotel’s loudspeaker system, and even though the suggestion was meant seriously, it aroused considerable merriment and shaking of heads. Of course the idea was in itself melodramatic, but it is important that guests should suggest alternatives that can be discussed. Rather, Sven Holm (1940-2019) (SF Encyclopedia entry), a Danish author of mainstream literature, delves into the psyche of the survivors, their isolation and inability to grasp the immensity of the changes beyond their walls, and their internal transformation as the rituals of “civilization” are maintained while the “reality” of external world infringes upon their oasis. On another level, beyond the effects of nuclear war, Holm’s focus on the upper class is deliberate. Termush serves as a condemnation of the “materialistic” modern human willing to pay a fortune to perpetuate a masquerade of normalcy as the world writhes in agony outside their compounds.

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Termush is a luxury resort where the wealthy guests are survivors who reserved their places before the nuclear apocalypse. Since what the group will find in the way of undamaged foodstuffs cannot be predicted, they are taking tinned goods with them, but because of the weight they cannot be given drink to last for more than a few days. The management and the scouts themselves pin their faith to the underground fresh-water supplies marked on the map. In my view there is good reason to believe that these water installations have been destroyed—or if they are intact, they will already have been used. The map showing the underground water storage facilities was sent out officially several years ago.

Faber Members have access to live and online events, special editions and book promotions, and articles and quizzes through our weekly e-newsletter. We did not envisage quite such a ruthless change in our environment. But one of the reasons for our feelings of weakness may be that things have retained their outward appearance, now that the disaster has happened. Without knowing it, we put our faith in the disaster; we thought our panic would be justified if we had to use symbols as violent as those our imagination needed earlier. The wealthy guests are survivors who reserved their rooms long before the disaster. But despite weathering a nuclear apocalypse, their problems are only just beginning – this is the hotel at the end of the world.It was then translated into English by Sylvia Clayton (herself a charismatic novelist) for Faber in 1969. In Clayton’s report on the Danish edition, she beautifully describes it as: This was a fascinating and gripping dystopian novel. The moral dilemmas that arose as well as how each person handled their new life was really interesting to watch as it unfolded. This was a short novel but one that will stay with me for a long time. Read about the Faber story, find out about our unique partnerships, and learn more about our publishing heritage, awards and present-day activity.

A vision of life after the Third World War, a fable about survival, atom-age man seen as Noah without God. Technically it could be called science fiction, in that it imagines the future, but its arguments and distinctions are ethical and emotional rather than scientific. It points the single moral that though to involve oneself with humanity is dangerous, to isolate oneself is fatal. John Gray’s “The New Leviathans: Thoughts After Liberalism” will be published later this year by Allen LaneThis has an interesting premise, but the writing is very flat. I was hoping for more conflict between the folks who stay in the hotel, but there isn’t much characterization. It’s more a microcosm that represents larger societal patterns and human behavior (the rich avoiding disasters by hiding away with their money, more privileged folks ignoring the plight of everyone else, hoarding, etc.). So the people in the story are more often spoken about as groups, except for Maria who is just kind of there. 😂 I think that is what makes Holm’s Termush so fantastic. Yes, he has a major point of social commentary—how the wealthy isolate themselves away from the problem of the world–but its told in an organic and well-constructed way.