This book is shortlisted for the Independent foreign fiction prize 2008. Picking up on a throwaway line in "The Magic Mountain", Castorp tells the story of Hans Castorp's student years in Gdansk, long before the adventures in Davos described in Thomas Mann's novel. Pawel Huelle skilfully creates a credible scenario for this influential period in Hans Castorp's development, imagining what happened when the rational German student was exposed to the Slavonic eastern edge of the Prussian empire. He comes across people, events and ideas that anticipate some of the encounters he will experience in years to come, including an enigmatic Polish woman who becomes his obsession. Set at the dawn of the twentieth century, Castorp faithfully recreates the atmosphere of central Europe as the storm began that would lead to two world wars. Beautifully written, full of humour, mystery and eccentricity, this is a moving tribute to a masterpiece of European literature.