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

Product Information

Considering Termush was first published over half a century ago, it feels timeless, and has strong contemporary resonances with the 21st-century world. Exceptional writing. 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. Termush is a luxury resort where the wealthy guests are survivors who reserved their places before the nuclear apocalypse. No, I mean after all we have experienced in the last few days. Or rather all that we have been spared from experiencing, but which we know has happened."

A fascinating and slightly disturbing novella about a group of wealthy guests sheltering from a nuclear disaster in a well equipped hotel (with underground bunker) We did not exchange many words, but we were aware in the same moment of a shared emotion when the sea suddenly appeared, stretched out before us on our right. Not because the sea was changed, but perhaps because in that moment the change in ourselves stood clearly revealed. A limitless, cooled-down desert filled with colourless gleams of sun. Only close inland by the cliffs could you follow the movement of the water—as if the speed and formation of the waves had been slowed down because of the height of the observation point above the beach. One picture in our minds gives us constant anxiety; we see the day when the fish leave the water and push through the sand and earth to the trees, where they bite into the bark with their skinless jaws and drag themselves up into the branches to live according to new instincts. We see the trees bare of leaves, festooned with fishy skeletons, their skins rustling like a death-rattle.” I have discussed this with my neighbours and some of the other guests here in the hotel and they do not disagree with me, even if they feel that I attach too much importance to one small incident.

See Faber authors in conversation and hear readings from their work at Faber Members events, literary festivals and at book shops across the UK. Translated from the Danish by Sylvia Clayton and recently republished by Faber Editions as part of a series of rediscovered gems. 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. 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.

Purchasing a book may earn the NS a commission from Bookshop.org, who support independent bookshops The second round used a lot of photographic imagery, trying to dig into the surreal and uncanny atmosphere of the book. Introduced by Jeff VanderMeer - 'a classic: stunning, dangerous, darkly beautiful' - welcome to the post-apocalyptic White Lotus: a luxury hotel at the end of the world in this lost 1967 dystopia ... Klarte dessverre ikke koble på denne boka. Jeg tror det er jeg som er problemet her. Men mulig jeg prøver å være snill fordi coveret er så utrolig fint. Kunne ønske jeg hadde lest den på norsk, men kunne ikke finne norsk oversettelse. A series of brief chapters, recounted dreams and events, relate the process of interior transformation experienced by N as the normalcy becomes more and more a charade. Holm introduces his central metaphor via Termush’s advertising brochure: “A physical aspect of the radioactive destruction is the transformation of elements” (9). What will change look like away from the signs of devastation?

Everything was prepared. Even a Noah’s ark to take the chosen specimens of humanity to a life in another corner of the globe, complete with gardens and spring water, where one could breathe the air and touch the flowers and fruit without risking fatal injury. A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy. Suddenly, a slim spine with the mysterious word ‘Termush’ emblazoned across it caught my eye. On taking it off the shelf, I was intrigued by the hazy scarlet cover depicting an atomic mushroom cloud. What was this odd creature? I sat down at the ancient archive table and devoured it in one sitting. Faber Members have access to live and online events, special editions and book promotions, and articles and quizzes through our weekly e-newsletter.

And I should like to question further whether we ourselves are in a fit condition to examine all the pros and cons about sending out the reconnaissance men or to make decisions about our future existence? Whether we are not in danger of atrophy, because we are inhibited from reacting outside the lines of the brochure? Whether we shall be able to master our own personalities, if we have suppressed those impulses that make us imaginative and active, irritable and insecure, but better able, when necessary, to make value judgements?N, and his fellow occupants, grapple with a disjointed experience. The hotel reproduces the world as if nothing has occurred–“We had unconsciously thought in terms of something more drastic, a radical transformation, with every single object showing traces of what had occurred, the furniture and the walls changing character and the view outside our window revealing a totally different world” (7). But even Termush isn’t spared from the tangible external signs of the apocalypse as survivors wander in from the surrounding towns, often on verge of death, and appear at the door. A processing plant manager struggles with the grim realities of a society where cannibalism is the new normal.