Fever at Dawn is a debut novel by film director Péter Gárdos. Based on the personal letters of correspondence between his parents, it recounts their remarkable story of emancipation as Holocaust survivors. This sensitive work reads like a eulogy written by a son to his deceased father and is in itself an act of homage.

We meet Péter’s parents, Miklós and Lili, when they are convalescing in separate refugee camps in Sweden not long after their rescue from the German death camps. Both struggle to nourish their emaciated bodies back to health, but for Miklós the prognosis is dire. Tuberculosis has caused irreparable damage to his lungs and he is given only months to live. Much to his doctor’s bewilderment, Miklós refutes the medical certainty of his imminent death and sets a plan of action in motion to find a wife. It is not denial that is at work here, rather, as the words of Viktor Frankl explain, ‘the salvation of man is through love and in love’ and this is the salve that Miklós seeks.

Motivated by a powerful sense of self-determination, Miklós sends out 117 handwritten letters to young Hungarian women living in refugee camps scattered throughout Sweden. Out of all the return letters he receives he knows immediately which woman he is going to marry. What follows is a developing love story that thwarts barriers and forces fate to rewrite itself.

The strength of this work is not just the compelling story it tells but that it is founded in real-life events. Ultimately, it’s an inspiring story about how hope and love can fortify one’s resolve even when the struggle for survival is acute.

A film adaptation of the book, released in Hungary in late December, will feature in international film festivals throughout 2016.

Natalie Platten