Freezing Point, by Anders Bodelsen

Freezing Point, by Anders Bodelsen was first published in 1969 in Danish with the title Frysepunktet and then in English in 1971. I think it was inspired by the case of Professor James Bedford who, died in 1967 but whose body was medically frozen in the hope he could be revived at some future date. Freezing point is a essentially a work of dystopian science fiction, a genre which doesn’t always last very well but this one was reissued in 2025 because the theme of using cryogenics to avoid death has stayed with us. The book explores some of the deep questions about ageing, death and what life might be like if it went on forever. The story is centred on a character named Bruno who is a magazine editor. It begins in 1973 when Bruno discovers that he has an incurable cancer. Just after receiving the news he meets a young ballerina, Jenny, and they have an affair. He is offered the chance to be one of the first to be frozen down, the idea being that he would be thawed out again when a cure…