Fervour

Reviews / Votes

This is a stylish, puzzling, mystical novel that offers no easy answers to how its characters - or its readers - might react in the wake of destruction. Inviting discussion rather than providing resolution, Fervour marks the arrival of an intriguing and intelligent new voice -- Erica Wagner * Financial Times * Lloyd's suspenseful debut novel propels the reader deep into the heart of an idiosyncratic family . . . Infused with motifs from Jewish folklore and classic horror films, Fervour animates themes of betrayal, belief and the past's long tail -- Hephzibah Anderson * Observer * A North London Jewish family, by turns close-knit and dysfunctional, take centre stage in Lloyd's remarkable debut . . . Lloyd has given himself a large canvas, peopled with complex characters, but produced a work of real poignancy -- Max Davidson * Mail on Sunday * In one of the most perceptive of her late essays, 'God's Language', Toni Morrison sets out her objective as a novelist: 'to construct a work in which religious belief is central to the narrative itself.' How, she asks, can the writer use the language religion has handed us in a way that the 21st-century reader can hear? Not an easy task - but one that Toby Lloyd, in his magnificent, indelible debut novel, Fervour, takes on with confidence, and with resounding success . . . In the final act of Fervour, Lloyd orchestrates a meeting of his main characters at the Rosenthals' house. In scenes that echo the end of Philip Roth's American Pastoral, at a family dinner with everyone present, all the early promise of the novel comes to fruition . . . Also, biblical. Which puts me back in mind of that Toni Morrison essay. That a young British novelist, on his first try, should have so effectively taken up a gauntlet laid down by the greatest American novelist of an era might seem surprising. But maybe not . . . Enriching his story with detail and above all heart, Lloyd has crafted a lasting allegory of our dark historical time -- Daniel Torday * New York Times * Lloyd splices paranormal chills with domestic intrigue in this tense debut about the disintegration of a devout Jewish family who suspect their daughter is possessed . . . A rich and dark stew that mixes ingredients from the Bible and the headlines, with a biting send-up of the vampiric nature of writing itself -- Anthony Cummins * Daily Mail * Toby Lloyd's slow burn of a debut novel is in the tradition of the pentagonal family saga, a subgenre that might include Thomas Mann's Buddenbrooks and Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections . . . Fervour is written with a rare precision and lingers in the mind long after reading. The quality of Lloyd's prose alone ensures that anything he writes next will be worth investigating -- Jude Cook * Guardian * 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 Darkly comedic in parts, yet deeply disturbing and utterly compelling, Fervour is an exceptional debut novel, one that will stay with me. -- Jennie Godfrey, author of THE LIST OF SUSPICIOUS THINGS 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 Both a provocative work of Jewish horror and a modern biblical tale, Fervour is the tightly coiled story of an idiosyncratic family whose unlikely survival skills also spell its doom -- Francisco Goldman, author of MONKEY BOY A gripping and powerful story of a British Jewish family visited by ghosts and divided by politics . . . Fans of Isaac Bashevis Singer and Stephen King alike will thrill to this superb modern folk tale -- Starred review * Publishers Weekly *