Fervour

By: Toby Lloyd

Narrated by: Genevieve Gaunt

The Secret History meets Jewish horror meets Jonathan Safran Foer in this exciting debut novel about a Jewish family in contemporary London.

Hannah and Eric are a successful couple living in North London with their three children and Eric's father, Yosef, a survivor of the camps. They are devout Jews who believe in the literal truth of the Old Testament, all except for their youngest son, Tovyah.

The death of Yosef fractures the family's apparent harmony and has a disastrous effect on Elsie, the model daughter, who disappears for four days, plunging her parents and siblings into a living nightmare. When she returns, just as mysteriously as she left, she is strangely altered.

Witnessing the complete transformation of their daughter's personality and some increasingly hard-to-explain events, Hannah and Eric begin to suspect Elsie is under the influence of black magic while Tovyah, a brilliant university student, believes his sister is suffering a mental collapse caused by his parents' antiquated beliefs.

But who is right? And can the family be reconciled before tearing itself apart?

©2024 Toby Lloyd (P)2024 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critic reviews

Intriguing, propulsive and profoundly disturbing, this is a fearless look into the dark heart of family politics from a naturally gifted storyteller (Jonathan Coe, author of BOURNVILLE)

Fervour is the book we need now. Bracing, compassionate, wise, terrifying - this beautifully written novel will haunt your dreams. That is, if you can put it down long enough to get any sleep (Darin Strauss, author of MORE THAN IT HURTS YOU)

Mindblowing

At times funny but mostly terribly sad. I think I have to read it again not for understanding but to be riveted by its telling of a story that is unbelievable but at the same time totally convincing. I was riveted the entire book by the telling and the way it was read.