The Nicotine Gospel

by Sven Axelrad

On New Year’s Eve in 1987, lightning kills Nate’s and Danny’s mother. To deal with the loss and make sense of a world seemingly governed by chance, their distant and eccentric father creates the Nicotine Gospel. “According to him, an eight by five cardboard box containing somewhere near twenty machine-made cigarettes would tell you all you needed to know about a man.” The boys throw themselves into the lessons to be close to their dad, but as Nate grows up and begins to understand how strange the family gospel (and their father) truly is, he starts to worry. While Nate excels at school and finds ways to escape their father’s neglect and the increasingly ramshackle house in Durban, Danny seems to revel in courting danger and death. Decades later, upon learning of their father’s death, Nate and Danny, long estranged, decide to drive from Durban to Cape Town to attend the funeral. On the journey, they must confront each other and their troubled past to find a way forward. The Nicotine Gospel is a darkly funny road trip novel.

207 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 1, 2025

About the author

Sven Axelrad is an accountant who writes books. He was born in New Zealand to a South African mother and a French father, but currently lives in Durban, South Africa. He reads a lot, plays the guitar, is covered in tattoos, drinks too much coffee, and loves his dog (and his wife)

Reviews

[Shawn Buck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I initially heard this book was different than Sven’s previous two and I was a little sad because I loved Buried Treasure and God’s Pocket. But I think that diagnosis is wrong! It has many of the same element books that shine so brightly in his books: A narrator who brings the story to life, the magical realism that makes life feel special, the fun humor in moments you don’t expect it, and the vulnerability of characters just trying to figure it out.

I just finished this moments ago and am still processing, but I think this will be the Sven Axelrad novel I recommend first to people who are about to become big fans. Thanks for this beautiful story, Sven!

[Alistair Mackay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Between this and Shubnum Khan’s latest book, it’s safe to say that Durban Gothic is now officially a thing. Darkness, wonder and magic in a crumbling subtropical city with electrical storms and clouds of moths? Yes please.

Loved this latest novel from Sven Axelrad. A departure from the world of Vivo of his previous novels - this is part roadtrip, part story of a difficult childhood that follows two brothers after their mother dies and their father descends into a kind of madness. Imaginative, heartbreaking, and beautifully told.

[Paige Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sven Axelrad is an astonishing new voice. I've said it before, but it bears repeating.
His latest offering, The Nicotine Gospel, is slightly harder to review than either Buried Treasure or God's Pocket, for a number of reasons.
Firstly, this book feels deeply personal. In the acknowledgements Axelrad says '...Before I go, I would like to say that although none of this happened, all of it is real...' which summed it up quite nicely for me. I haven't asked him the eleventy-ten questions reading this book has inspired (I plan on dive-bombing him at The Franschoek Literary Festival), so I'm guessing here, but I suspect there is much of his father in this book, and potentially either some or much of his brother too. It feels like deep memoir, but I suspect that's just good writing, and it's simply (ha!) fiction with heart. At least I hope so, because there were snippets of a childhood here that nobody should have to live through. (It would be valuable to see him speak about this and his other books, so do google when his launches and appearances are around the country, they're happening as we speak. Or follow him on socials - he's interesting to follow.)
Axelrad's first two insanely good novels were set in Vivo, an imaginary but real place, and I highly recommend you read them first to really let the author's unique voice seep under your skin, it will make The Nicotine Gospel even more enjoyable. In Gospel, for the first time, Axelrad takes us into Durban and on a road trip to Knysna, which grounds this book in more reality than his others, grounding that's useful considering all the electricity contained in its pages.
The Nicotine Gospel is part road trip novel, part coming-of-age tale, this is beautifully crafted literary fiction with puffs of magic realism. Reading this book was like smoking one long cigarette.
Literary fiction may not have the twists and turns or chasing plot of genre fiction, but this novel reads simply and easily, and had me in it's thrall. I didn't want to put it down from start to finish. Like his others, it's dark and as Beat Generation as you're going to get in 2025.
The Nicotine Gospel spans the youth and adult lives of brothers Nathan and Danny, who grew up in Durban with their famous-author father, in less than ordinary circumstances. Their dad believed that you could tell everything worth knowing about a person by what cigarettes they smoked, and he made it his life's work to impart this Nicotine Gospel on his 'Lucky Boys' ('...not because good things happened to us. We were the Lucky Boys because my brother and I were brought up to measure all things, and I do mean all things, by a pack of cigarettes. Dad was a Lucky Strike man...')
It strikes me (pardon the pun) that if you've enjoyed early Augusten Burroughs (Running with Scissors), this will appeal.
If this sounds like it's up your alley please read all of them, starting with either Buried Treasure or God's Pocket, I think you'll treasure your collection, as I do.

[Riley Herbert-Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last night, I finished The Nicotine Gospel by Sven Axelrad. Once again, I am in absolute awe of Sven’s ability to craft a story. The Nic Gos (as I affectionately call it when I bombard my husband with anecdotes and quips about it) is a step away from the world of Vivo. It follows the story of Nathan, his brother Danny and their father, the famous writer, Esben Muesli. After the death of their mother, their father starts teaching them about people using cigarettes as the guiding principle. The gist being that you can tell everything you need to know about someone by the cigarettes they smoke.

This story is much deeper than that though. Axelrad asks the question of belonging – what happens when we decide to leave the life we know in pursuit of something better, and what happens to the people we love when we do.

It is an exploration of love and family values. While the story is dark at times, there is an underlying current of hope. Hope in oneself, and hope in the world around you. I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Nathan and Danny. There is a tenderness there between the brothers that Axelrad captures so beautifully. Anyone with siblings will read those scenes and immediately identify with the emotional decisions that the characters make.

Sharp, darkly funny and highly affecting. I highly recommend this novel.

[Gail Gilbride · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nicotine Gospel is hands down the best novel I have read this year!

Despite the shocking events in their lives, the two brothers in the novel show remarkable resilience, and a passion for life which is absolutley palpable.

Yes, the family was severly dysfunctional, and there were many incidents that should never have been allowed to happen. But even a dysfunctional parent has gifts to offer and the father in this story is no exception.

Sven Axelrad is exceptionally talented ... and an author to watch closely.
It has been a long time since I've read throught the night and woken up early to finish a book.
Axelrad's writing is raw, authentic, sexy, and brilliant. Every single word is meant to be exactly where it is, and there are no superfluous sentences to be found.

To say I was riveted, is a gross understatement.

Bravo!

(P S Can you please teach me to write like this ... )

[Ana Costa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vivo may be resting for a while, but this time around, it's the town of Durban, KZN, that shines under Sven Axelrad's spotlight!
On a fundamental level, this novel is a testament to the 80s/90s, capturing the essence of a bygone era where youngsters thrived on drive-ins, radios, cassettes, and arcade games. It was a time when mental health wasn't a buzzword, and matters of trauma and physical abuse were taboo topics, often glossed over and suppressed as kids just carried on with life.
This third novel is exceptionally poignant, yet triumphant, delicate but also hard-core, hilarious, and at times, most heart-wrenching.
I'm still reeling from this book. The fascinating tale utterly gripped me, making it extremely difficult to put down. And now I wish I could relive the experience and read it again for the first time!
Those of you who are familiar with Sven’s writing technique and voice, you won’t be disappointed! And newbies, you’re in for such a treat!

[Rika Burger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sven Axelrad... you are a gift to readers. A gripping tale of brotherhood in a hot and humid Durban. I sometimes wonder about the effects of being raised by undiagnosed parents / parents who should've received therapy at some point, but never did. Unlike anything I've ever read!

[Travice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Emma JP · Rating 5 out of 5]

With every book, Sven manages to find a new angle to break my heart (complimentary).

I wasn't expecting to resonate with this book as much as I did, but was pleasantly surprised by the universality of the emotions evoked. Family, hey?

A very different world and voice to Vivo, but beautifully rendered in Sven's unique style. His visceral descriptions pulled me in and kept me there.

[Keri Bainborough · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in one sitting on a journey back from South Africa to England. I could not put it down. Beautifully written and the descriptions of Durban couldn’t be more perfect. Loved.

[Hjwoodward · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book and need to own it, so I'm going to buy a copy as soon as I can. (It's in my friend's bookclub at the moment). I was about to write a review, but having read Paige Nick's, I think you should rather just read hers! She's written a brilliant one. The only thing I would add is about siblings. I have a sister who left this country and our family, and I know she has made a different life (I argue it is not a better one!) and as Danny (the protagonist Nathan's brother) was left floundering, so was I. I do think it was a wound to the heart that I suffered at the time and so I feel very tender towards Danny. In this book Sven Axelrad - which definitely feels like an accurate memoir even though in it many impossible things happen before breakfast as it were! - questions sibling love, and family, and fatherliness. The only slight criticism I would have (and that is only because I myself have never suffered such cruelty) would be the absolute wickedness of the 'stepmother' with no redeeming qualities in her whatsoever. She was a hard character to swallow.
The love in the family, and the strange rivalry that arises (I think particularly between sons) is beautifully depicted. Anyone with siblings will understand.

[Lize Du Toit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unsurprisingly, as with Sven Axelrad’s previous books, this story is a haunting literary thaumaturgy so stunningly sad and tender, so sharp and darkly funny, so deeply soul-entrenching.

Departing from his previous books, The Nicotine Gospel is set (mostly) in Durban, a place so vividly resurrected in my memory that even now, I still feel its sticky subtropical humidity and the galvanising disquiet of a thunderstorm gathering over an atrophying suburbia. And, good lord, do I miss home.

Axelrad doesn’t write so much as intoxicate readers with sweeping wonder – sometimes electrifying, sometimes luminously melancholic. Axelrad, to my mind at least, does magic realism to a delicious degree only matched by the likes of Márquez and Allende. His third novel, though, tilts slightly heavier toward realism. And astutely so. This is a story about resilience. And madness. Both beget by grief. It entreats you, the reader, back to some important place within yourself.

The Nicotine Gospel still swims somewhere in my insides, scraping me a little raw. But with tenderness. Perhaps the only way I can describe the book properly, is this: A beautiful ache.

[Cheryl Lotter · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nicotine Gospel is a gift - a book that really makes you think. It's the first book I've ever read that's based in my home town, which gives it a special kind of relevance - I don't have to imagine the streets and landmarks, as I've actually walked them. But the city is not the only thing that seems familiar - the Nicotine Gospel hits poignantly relevant notes from childhood, especially as I too had a parent slavishly devoted to cigarettes (Texan Plain, very character-defining, I'm sure). This book has deep insights into the micro injuries and challenges of growing up. Everyone has a unique and unseen story, brought to life as relevant and interesting through the pen of Sven. I highly recommend this book.

[Chereen Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I closed this book mere moments ago and know I need to do so much more processing (and will do a couple of rereads as well), but I couldn’t not make a note of my initial thoughts after finishing The Nicotine Gospel. I was in awe for much of this book: the beautiful prose, the richly evocative imagery, the literary references sprinkled throughout, and Axelrad’s way with words and incredible talent for bringing darkly magical worlds to life. This book was pure magic and moved me to tears on several occasions. I loved it and couldn’t recommend it more highly. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Axelrad has fast become one of my favourite authors!

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in Durban and distinct from his first two books, the story of Nathan and Danny, their eccentric father, Esben Meusli, and his Nicotine Gospel is wondrous and heartbreaking in equal measure. The Gospel seeks to ratify the nature of a smoker based on their choice of tobacco brand, how they hold their cigarette, even, and what they use to ignite it. Meusli senior takes it upon himself after the untimely death of their beloved mother to teach his boys to read people by their pack of smokes. Absorbed by his grief, he misreads the inherently cruel nature of his lover, unwittingly misses the abusive terror his young boys face, compelling Nathan to become the adult his father cannot be. His childhood marred by this mantle thrust upon him, he eventually chooses to leave home, and Danny, feeling deserted, acts out in increasingly more dangerous ways. Years later, after their father passes away, on a road trip to bury him, Nathan and Danny are forced to face their demons. Axelrad has a remarkable ability to tell a story that is at times tender and also brutal, with sincerity and immense kindness - this is a road trip worth taking.

[Hannah McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We were the sound and consequence, unable to both observe it and understand it."

Trust Sven Axelrad to get me out of a reading slump! Durban's favourite magical realist is back, in vivo but not in Vivo this time. (Read his books to understand what I mean – and then thank me, because all of his work is a gift.)

This is a beautiful, terrible portrait of family and grief, brotherhood and betrayal, lightning and learning and loss, all tied together with cigarette smoke and moth dust.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this beautifully written book to be very moving, and I enjoyed the philosophical aspects of it. However, I recently read A Little Life, and if I’d known this book was also about abuse, I would have waited to read it. I think I’ve had my fair share of reading about people's abuse for a while. I highly recommend it, but it’s not an easy read.

[Eric Axelrad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crazy, fresh and new. Sven has a way with words that makes me want to go back and commit phrases and descriptions to memory.

[Shubnum Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moving. Sven continues to delight and show writing that is fresh and dark at the same time. Read it!

[Buren Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

This read like Zenn and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and honestly it’s fantastic.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Darkly funny, emotionally intense... it's Sven 3rd book and it's a ride worth taking!

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe 3.5 stars. Just a bit boring.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

maybe i’m cheating bc i didn’t entirely finish the book bc i couldn’t bc i started winter break but it was pretty good but not fenomenal

[Rosemary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Battled to connect with this one...

A lot of the cigarette stuff felt like it was written by a non-smoker (especially the parts about quitting - lol). The writer also has a habit of repeating overtly literary words like "firmament" a lot - feels totally unnatural for the voice of the novel. And, for a book that's meant to be "about lightning", it's weird to have details jump out at you like when the narrator claims the car keeps them safe because of the rubber tires (it's actually because a car is a faraday cage...) Also, why have the psychologist tell us that the narrator "can't remember much" from before the incident - but then have the narrator quote minute conversational details from when his mother was alive? The book is just full of sloppy moments!!! Story definitely picked up when the brother and entered the scene, but I thought Danny was a bit 2D - we've seen this character done so much better.

I think, in general, the whole premise of the book felt more suited to a short story. Felt more like a first book than a third novel.