This book was A Book. Part poetry, part prose, all scarily accurate Freud fanfic. I've read more than my fair share of Dr. Freud (aka Siggy aka Ugly Teddy Bear), and I got goosebumps reading THE WHITE HOTEL. Thomas pulls out all the stops to mimic the good doctor's reasonable writing style, and I repeatedly had to remind myself that this book is historical fiction.

Modeled after Freud's published case studies, THE WHITE HOTEL takes you on an intimate journey into one woman's experience of post WWI and WWII's Eastern Europe. I can't tell ya'll much more because almost everything is a spoiler in this book, and half the fun is distinguishing between reality and the woman's magical, hysterical reality. For those who have read Freud before, Thomas draws heavily on"Beyond the Pleasure Principle" with some pretty sweet dream analysis thrown in.

There is gender and racial diversity in the book, but, of course, since it's a) Freud fanfic and b) set during the Holocaust, nothing ends well for anybody. Thomas does his best to provide solace in the last section, but it doesn't entirely ease the grief. I wouldn't recommend the book for those already sick at heart. It's more of a "Oh, you like reading Freud? Read this!" sort of recommendation.