Hunters in the Snow — D.M. Thomas

Vienna in the early 20th century was, in the words of our protagonist and narrator, a soulless, syphilitic whore of a city; a turbulent and bubbling melting pot of races, creeds and politics, rapidly expanding as it strained to contain the ever-increasing multitudes. In such places the nightmare moments of modern history are conceived. This novel is a fictionalised account of those who were to change the very collective psyche of mankind. It is a vivid and poignant portrayal of the sometimes thin dividing line between becoming good or evil. D. M. Thomas is a British novelist and poet, born and living in Cornwall. His novel The White Hotel was an international bestseller and shortlisted for the Booker Prize. It is rightly considered a modern classic. John Updike said of the book: ‘Astonishing … A forthright sensuality mixed with a fine historical feeling for the nightmare moments in modern history, a dreamlike fluidity and quickness'; the statement could equally be applied to Hunters in the Snow.