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A smart, original, and provocative debut novel about a close-knit Jewish family in London pushed to the brink when they suspect their daughter is a witch—for readers of The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin and Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer.
Hannah and Eric Rosenthal are a successful, devoutly religious couple living in North London with their three children and Eric’s father Yosef, a Holocaust survivor. When Yosef dies and their only daughter Elsie disappears, the family descends into a living nightmare. Four days later, she returns—pale, dripping wet, and different.
As events around Elsie become increasingly bewildering, Hannah and Eric begin to suspect she is under the influence of black magic, while her atheist brother Tovyah, a brilliant university student, believes his sister is suffering a mental collapse caused by his parents’ antiquated religious beliefs. Can the family be reconciled before tearing itself apart?
Part The Secret History with a dash of The Royal Tenenbaums , this stunningly written novel questions what it means to be tied to an ancient ethical and metaphysical system—and if you reject that system, what is left of your identity? Told through revolving points of view, we witness a family trying to reckon with both historical and personal tragedy, to electrifying ends. A darkly comic and compellingly original meditation on family, faith, and generational trauma— Fervor is entertaining, erudite, terrifying, and unforgettable.
Hannah and Eric Rosenthal are a successful, devoutly religious couple living in North London with their three children and Eric’s father Yosef, a Holocaust survivor. When Yosef dies and their only daughter Elsie disappears, the family descends into a living nightmare. Four days later, she returns—pale, dripping wet, and different.
As events around Elsie become increasingly bewildering, Hannah and Eric begin to suspect she is under the influence of black magic, while her atheist brother Tovyah, a brilliant university student, believes his sister is suffering a mental collapse caused by his parents’ antiquated religious beliefs. Can the family be reconciled before tearing itself apart?
Part The Secret History with a dash of The Royal Tenenbaums , this stunningly written novel questions what it means to be tied to an ancient ethical and metaphysical system—and if you reject that system, what is left of your identity? Told through revolving points of view, we witness a family trying to reckon with both historical and personal tragedy, to electrifying ends. A darkly comic and compellingly original meditation on family, faith, and generational trauma— Fervor is entertaining, erudite, terrifying, and unforgettable.
307 pages, Hardcover
First published February 22, 2024
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14021 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 222 reviews
May 19, 2024
Actual Rating: 3.5/5 stars
“We have arrived at a paradox. To live as a Jew is impossible, and not to live as a Jew is equally impossible. Both paths are obscene, both insult the dead. Our subject today is whether it is possible to speak intelligently about the Holocaust. There are men who have claimed, some with great authority, that it is not possible.”
Right off the bat, let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room that admittedly changed the lens through which I went into the story. This book is being done a disservice by its marketing team by being marketed as a horror/ghost-story. It is not… It’s a literary fiction novel about the relationships and connections within a Jewish family and the multigenerational ripple-effect that the trauma of the Holocaust sent through it.
Don’t get me wrong: there are plenty of “horrors” interlinked within this story; horrors of the aftermath of war, of the inhuman crimes taking place in WWII, of substance abuse and mental health, of neglect and abuse, and many more. But this is not a horror-novel, but a family tragedy at its core.
What I loved:
Viewed as a generational-saga instead of primarily a work of horror, Fervor succeeds in many aspects. We follow three generations of the Rosenthal family, largely centering around Hannah, a devout mother and believer in the literal interpretation of the Old Testament (specifically the existence of literal Good and Evil). Hannah is a journalist, living with her husband in North London and currently working on a partially fictionalized biography of her father Yosef’s life and the horrors he lived through as a Holocaust survivor. Her taking of these events stirs up a lot of friction within the family. Caught in the crossfire are Hannah’s two adolescent children Tovyah and Elsie. Things take a turn for the worse when Elsie becomes drawn to the darker sides of Jewish mythology and her mental health starts to suffer in turn.
Fervor would make for a fantastic book-club pick as there are so many important discussions to be had here. Discussions on religion, cultural identity, generational trauma (in particular the “ownership” and right to speak of said trauma), and many more. I loved how Toby Lloyd chose to touch on these subjects, without spelling things out or moralizing the reader. A lot of the dynamics involved are implied through character-interactions, which enhances that feeling that there’s so much more under the surface with this family than first meets the eye.
All of the characters are flawed in their own ways, some irredeemably so. Yet all of them are written to be understandable, considering their circumstances, which is an incredibly difficult thing to do. The level to which Toby Lloyd manages that (considering it’s a debut too!) is impressive!
What I didn’t love:
My biggest critique is the continuous distance I felt to the characters, which I think was mostly due to the choice of POV. A large chunk of the story is told from a perspective outside the core-family; as an outsider looking in. Personally, I would’ve preferred a more claustrophobic inside perspective, as I feel it would’ve fit the story and tone better.
Finally, I have to circle back to the mismarketing. It may seem unfair to critique a book heavily for something outside the authors control, but as a message to the publishers its importance to a books success can’t be understated. This book got lucky with me, as I happen to like both horror- ánd literary fiction. Readers who expected an exorcist-like novel about a teenage girl divulging and unhinging into Jewish Mysticism (which is not an unfair expectation coming off the marketing!) will come away disappointed. I truly hope the publisher will address this, as to make sure the book reaches its correct audience.
Many thanks to Avid Reader Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
“We have arrived at a paradox. To live as a Jew is impossible, and not to live as a Jew is equally impossible. Both paths are obscene, both insult the dead. Our subject today is whether it is possible to speak intelligently about the Holocaust. There are men who have claimed, some with great authority, that it is not possible.”
Right off the bat, let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room that admittedly changed the lens through which I went into the story. This book is being done a disservice by its marketing team by being marketed as a horror/ghost-story. It is not… It’s a literary fiction novel about the relationships and connections within a Jewish family and the multigenerational ripple-effect that the trauma of the Holocaust sent through it.
Don’t get me wrong: there are plenty of “horrors” interlinked within this story; horrors of the aftermath of war, of the inhuman crimes taking place in WWII, of substance abuse and mental health, of neglect and abuse, and many more. But this is not a horror-novel, but a family tragedy at its core.
What I loved:
Viewed as a generational-saga instead of primarily a work of horror, Fervor succeeds in many aspects. We follow three generations of the Rosenthal family, largely centering around Hannah, a devout mother and believer in the literal interpretation of the Old Testament (specifically the existence of literal Good and Evil). Hannah is a journalist, living with her husband in North London and currently working on a partially fictionalized biography of her father Yosef’s life and the horrors he lived through as a Holocaust survivor. Her taking of these events stirs up a lot of friction within the family. Caught in the crossfire are Hannah’s two adolescent children Tovyah and Elsie. Things take a turn for the worse when Elsie becomes drawn to the darker sides of Jewish mythology and her mental health starts to suffer in turn.
Fervor would make for a fantastic book-club pick as there are so many important discussions to be had here. Discussions on religion, cultural identity, generational trauma (in particular the “ownership” and right to speak of said trauma), and many more. I loved how Toby Lloyd chose to touch on these subjects, without spelling things out or moralizing the reader. A lot of the dynamics involved are implied through character-interactions, which enhances that feeling that there’s so much more under the surface with this family than first meets the eye.
All of the characters are flawed in their own ways, some irredeemably so. Yet all of them are written to be understandable, considering their circumstances, which is an incredibly difficult thing to do. The level to which Toby Lloyd manages that (considering it’s a debut too!) is impressive!
What I didn’t love:
My biggest critique is the continuous distance I felt to the characters, which I think was mostly due to the choice of POV. A large chunk of the story is told from a perspective outside the core-family; as an outsider looking in. Personally, I would’ve preferred a more claustrophobic inside perspective, as I feel it would’ve fit the story and tone better.
Finally, I have to circle back to the mismarketing. It may seem unfair to critique a book heavily for something outside the authors control, but as a message to the publishers its importance to a books success can’t be understated. This book got lucky with me, as I happen to like both horror- ánd literary fiction. Readers who expected an exorcist-like novel about a teenage girl divulging and unhinging into Jewish Mysticism (which is not an unfair expectation coming off the marketing!) will come away disappointed. I truly hope the publisher will address this, as to make sure the book reaches its correct audience.
Many thanks to Avid Reader Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
January 10, 2024
3,5 - This certainly kept me interested, but ultimately left me slightly dissatisfied.
It is the story of the siblings Tovyah and Elsie, growing up in a religious Jewish household in London and starting to rebel against their parents each in their own way.
As the brilliant but insufferable Tolvyah moves to Oxford, he meets Katie who takes an interest in Tolvyah, his enigmatic sister (who has gone off the rails for unknown reasons), and his famous mother - a career-driven memoirist that uses her family's real life experiences as material to the frustration of her children.
The publisher correctly says it has something of the Secret History and it's all very intriguing, but once I got to the end it seemed not that much had actually happened.
There are also quite some difficult and sensitive themes (holocaust, Jewish mysticism, mental health) that for me should be treated with care, not just as plot-devices - mostly they were handled well and explained clearly, but not always.
Many thanks to the publisher for an audio-ARC via Netgalley - the narration was impressive as the female narrator was very consistent when different characters, including men, were speaking.
It is the story of the siblings Tovyah and Elsie, growing up in a religious Jewish household in London and starting to rebel against their parents each in their own way.
As the brilliant but insufferable Tolvyah moves to Oxford, he meets Katie who takes an interest in Tolvyah, his enigmatic sister (who has gone off the rails for unknown reasons), and his famous mother - a career-driven memoirist that uses her family's real life experiences as material to the frustration of her children.
The publisher correctly says it has something of the Secret History and it's all very intriguing, but once I got to the end it seemed not that much had actually happened.
There are also quite some difficult and sensitive themes (holocaust, Jewish mysticism, mental health) that for me should be treated with care, not just as plot-devices - mostly they were handled well and explained clearly, but not always.
Many thanks to the publisher for an audio-ARC via Netgalley - the narration was impressive as the female narrator was very consistent when different characters, including men, were speaking.
April 9, 2024
I was curious about Fervor, but hadn’t expected to be completely swept away by the content. I borrowed it from the library, read the first few pages to gauge my interest, and found myself immediately captivated.
Fervor loosely reminded me of A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay in its contortion of mental illness and demonic possession, as viewed through a religious lens, as well as its commentary on sensationalizing a person’s suffering for the sake of profit. Despite these similar themes, Tremblay examined Catholicism while Lloyd’s novel has Judaism at its center, and the stories are incredibly different. I would, however, recommend Fervor to anyone who enjoyed Tremblay’s book.
You likely know by now that I am drawn to narratives that explore the more problematic aspects of stringent religious beliefs. Fervor fully satisfied this interest of mine, and I found it acutely unsettling. It also produced a pronounced ache in my chest and provoked an abundance of thoughts.
If you go into this expecting action and obvious supernatural components, you might not be pleased with what you actually receive. This is a character driven story that heavily delves into Old Testament interpretation. It is illustrated through the perspective of a friend of the youngest (adult) child in the Rosenthal family, which provided a more ambiguous comprehension of events than a more direct first person narrative might have done. The choices the author made in how to tell this story made it all the more unique and entrancing.
Fervor was both brilliant and devastating. I’ve had to sit with it for a few days because it completely blew my mind and shook my core. It’s scary, yes, but it is not horror in the way that you might expect. It is, throughout, a continuous reminder of the horrible and the good you can find within the same person, the traumatic memories some are forced to live with, and the generations that this impacts.
Fervor loosely reminded me of A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay in its contortion of mental illness and demonic possession, as viewed through a religious lens, as well as its commentary on sensationalizing a person’s suffering for the sake of profit. Despite these similar themes, Tremblay examined Catholicism while Lloyd’s novel has Judaism at its center, and the stories are incredibly different. I would, however, recommend Fervor to anyone who enjoyed Tremblay’s book.
You likely know by now that I am drawn to narratives that explore the more problematic aspects of stringent religious beliefs. Fervor fully satisfied this interest of mine, and I found it acutely unsettling. It also produced a pronounced ache in my chest and provoked an abundance of thoughts.
If you go into this expecting action and obvious supernatural components, you might not be pleased with what you actually receive. This is a character driven story that heavily delves into Old Testament interpretation. It is illustrated through the perspective of a friend of the youngest (adult) child in the Rosenthal family, which provided a more ambiguous comprehension of events than a more direct first person narrative might have done. The choices the author made in how to tell this story made it all the more unique and entrancing.
Fervor was both brilliant and devastating. I’ve had to sit with it for a few days because it completely blew my mind and shook my core. It’s scary, yes, but it is not horror in the way that you might expect. It is, throughout, a continuous reminder of the horrible and the good you can find within the same person, the traumatic memories some are forced to live with, and the generations that this impacts.
February 26, 2024
I was extremely impressed with this debut novel. Unlike anything I’ve ever ready before, I was captured from the very beginning I don’t agree that this is necessarily a horror story- to me it’s more of a social commentary in the mirror of religion/religious extremism. Every character served a purpose and I felt satisfied with the way the story was completed. While it was technically left open ended, it felt true to the story to draw your own conclusions. I think this books provides incredible fodder for a book club discussion. Highly recommend!
Thank you Avid Reader Press for the NetGalley arc! I have been excited about this book for quite some time and was thrilled to receive it. And the cover!! Is just stunning!!
Thank you Avid Reader Press for the NetGalley arc! I have been excited about this book for quite some time and was thrilled to receive it. And the cover!! Is just stunning!!
November 2, 2024
Audiobook (9 hours) narrated by Genevieve Gaunt
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
While the narration is decent, the audio is flawed. There are some mildly obvious edits, along with some very mild volume inconsistencies. By mild, you will hear a volume fluctuation but it isn't something that is jarring or that has to be adjusted, just that it will uptake or go down a small amount. This happens a handful of times scattered throughout the novel.
This is a debut novel for Toby Lloyd.
I don't have a lot to say about this story. I found it to be a dark, difficult story of a family and their history.
For some reason, I pictured a lot of the conversations taking place around a dinner table. I realize that wasn't the setting, but in my mind, it felt like this family had conversations when they were all almost forced to sit down together.
A lot of the build, for me, game from my personal knowledge and feelings about the Holocaust.
Going over the synopsis, after completing the novel, it's not written up well. This is a family in turmoil, trying to cope, first and foremost.
It's an OK read. Nothing new or special or that is going to stay with me.
I did complete the novel, but I didn't feel like there was a payout for me. While I didn't mind the story, I also could have easily passed on it.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
While the narration is decent, the audio is flawed. There are some mildly obvious edits, along with some very mild volume inconsistencies. By mild, you will hear a volume fluctuation but it isn't something that is jarring or that has to be adjusted, just that it will uptake or go down a small amount. This happens a handful of times scattered throughout the novel.
This is a debut novel for Toby Lloyd.
I don't have a lot to say about this story. I found it to be a dark, difficult story of a family and their history.
For some reason, I pictured a lot of the conversations taking place around a dinner table. I realize that wasn't the setting, but in my mind, it felt like this family had conversations when they were all almost forced to sit down together.
A lot of the build, for me, game from my personal knowledge and feelings about the Holocaust.
Going over the synopsis, after completing the novel, it's not written up well. This is a family in turmoil, trying to cope, first and foremost.
It's an OK read. Nothing new or special or that is going to stay with me.
I did complete the novel, but I didn't feel like there was a payout for me. While I didn't mind the story, I also could have easily passed on it.
February 16, 2024
E-ARC received from Edelweiss, thank you for the opportunity!
It's not a ghost story, even though there might be a ghost, and the ghosts of the past are everywhere. It's about faith, and how even not having faith is still a kind of belief. It's about how you can never fully understand another person, and sometimes you shouldn't try. It's about how memory is sometimes a trap and a weight. It's about how sometimes a cruel and vengeful God makes more sense than a kind and loving God, and the ways you might show your faith. Your fervor, if you will.
For those with triggers, part of the story is Yosef's experiences in the ghetto and in Treblinka, and as he tells Hannah "I didn't survive. I got out.". Elsie struggles with mental illness and anorexia, and there is an explicit, terrible death. Be aware going in.
It's not a ghost story, even though there might be a ghost, and the ghosts of the past are everywhere. It's about faith, and how even not having faith is still a kind of belief. It's about how you can never fully understand another person, and sometimes you shouldn't try. It's about how memory is sometimes a trap and a weight. It's about how sometimes a cruel and vengeful God makes more sense than a kind and loving God, and the ways you might show your faith. Your fervor, if you will.
For those with triggers, part of the story is Yosef's experiences in the ghetto and in Treblinka, and as he tells Hannah "I didn't survive. I got out.". Elsie struggles with mental illness and anorexia, and there is an explicit, terrible death. Be aware going in.
June 4, 2024
Wow this was captivating! More from this author please!
April 17, 2024
As many, many reviewers have noted - the description doesn’t match the contents. Weird decision-making there. The publisher is just lucky I liked it anyway. I think I suspected it would be less horror than it advertised, but it’s also less about the girl (Elsie). It’s mostly about Tovyah, though Elsie is a strong force in the story. And it’s mostly narrated from the perspective of someone completely outside of the family.
There’s definitely a version of this that I would enjoy more that explores the POVs of everyone in the family, like Crossroads by Franzen. Beef this book up, and it could give that kind of family drama. But I still liked this as is.
This family. Yikes. A disaster that’s fascinating to watch. Does anyone read this and actually like Hannah?? She exploits family pain for recognition and pity, oof.
This is a weird moment for this book to come out and a weird moment to read it. I’d say it largely presents flawed people on both sides of the Zionism question which makes it sound like the author “both sides” the issue, but I mean that he just focuses on the characters, and they believe different things. I don’t think the book really makes an argument for anything in particular.
My main complaint is that using Kate, a friend of the family, as the narrator is a weird choice. I didn’t love the distance that created especially since she didn’t feel well characterized. I was so confused as to why she put up with Tovyah. The guy is cruel to her multiple times. Her backstory could potentially explain it, but we never get any backstory.
Overall, I liked the writing style and the exploration of a religious family’s messiness!
There’s definitely a version of this that I would enjoy more that explores the POVs of everyone in the family, like Crossroads by Franzen. Beef this book up, and it could give that kind of family drama. But I still liked this as is.
This family. Yikes. A disaster that’s fascinating to watch. Does anyone read this and actually like Hannah?? She exploits family pain for recognition and pity, oof.
This is a weird moment for this book to come out and a weird moment to read it. I’d say it largely presents flawed people on both sides of the Zionism question which makes it sound like the author “both sides” the issue, but I mean that he just focuses on the characters, and they believe different things. I don’t think the book really makes an argument for anything in particular.
My main complaint is that using Kate, a friend of the family, as the narrator is a weird choice. I didn’t love the distance that created especially since she didn’t feel well characterized. I was so confused as to why she put up with Tovyah. The guy is cruel to her multiple times. Her backstory could potentially explain it, but we never get any backstory.
Overall, I liked the writing style and the exploration of a religious family’s messiness!
January 11, 2025
4.5 stars
This is such an under the radar little masterpiece. I haven't seen anyone talking about it, and yet, I found it impossible to put down. FERVOUR defies categorization: it has an immersive, incisive Oxford setting that will appeal to people who enjoy dark academia, without actually being a dark academia novel. Although it discusses the horror of the Holocaust, and the generational trauma that came from it - I disagree with the goodreads tags that categorize this as a horror story. Even with the mysticism that obsesses some of the characters.
This is an intense look into the inner workings of a family struggling to comprehend their daughter's undoing, as seen largely through the eyes of an outsider, fascinated by their eccentricity, seduced by the revelations she believes they can offer her.
This is such an under the radar little masterpiece. I haven't seen anyone talking about it, and yet, I found it impossible to put down. FERVOUR defies categorization: it has an immersive, incisive Oxford setting that will appeal to people who enjoy dark academia, without actually being a dark academia novel. Although it discusses the horror of the Holocaust, and the generational trauma that came from it - I disagree with the goodreads tags that categorize this as a horror story. Even with the mysticism that obsesses some of the characters.
This is an intense look into the inner workings of a family struggling to comprehend their daughter's undoing, as seen largely through the eyes of an outsider, fascinated by their eccentricity, seduced by the revelations she believes they can offer her.
May 23, 2024
This was one of those books that intrigued me from the offset, and I found myself excitedly clinging to small details that I was convinced would become significant or insightful later on. As it was, wading through the last 25% of the read, it dawned on me that the number of possibly illuminating nuggets in my collection that could conceivably have been important was rapidly approaching zero, and had I not been reading on Kindle, I’d probably have shaken my hard copy and turned it upside down to see if anything else fell out when I finished the final page. Blue balls.
May 8, 2024
Thank you to Avid Reader Press for the gifted copy to review.
This was such an interesting read, and note that the description is misleading. It is a family drama, not quite the horror genre it is first categorized as. It is also less about the witch / ghost element, and more about the family drama, and I was a little disappointed in that but it was still a great read, don’t get me wrong. Siblings Elsie and Tovyah are growing up in a middle class Jewish family in North London, Tovyah is trying to find his place and Elsie is unraveling a bit after their mother Hannah is about to publish a sensationalist account of their grandfather’s time in war-torn Europe, and this is just the beginning with this family. I was captivated from the first chapter, the pacing is steady throughout, and I was curious to see how this family was going to end up as they struggled with loyalty and self-destruction all at the same time.
This was such an interesting read, and note that the description is misleading. It is a family drama, not quite the horror genre it is first categorized as. It is also less about the witch / ghost element, and more about the family drama, and I was a little disappointed in that but it was still a great read, don’t get me wrong. Siblings Elsie and Tovyah are growing up in a middle class Jewish family in North London, Tovyah is trying to find his place and Elsie is unraveling a bit after their mother Hannah is about to publish a sensationalist account of their grandfather’s time in war-torn Europe, and this is just the beginning with this family. I was captivated from the first chapter, the pacing is steady throughout, and I was curious to see how this family was going to end up as they struggled with loyalty and self-destruction all at the same time.
August 12, 2024
Might be the best book I’ve read of the year so far.
Beautiful, haunting, disturbing, will leave you questioning everything.
Beautiful, haunting, disturbing, will leave you questioning everything.
March 10, 2024
Based on the description, this book wasn't quite what I was expecting. It's more The World Cannot Give and less, I don't know, Jonathan Franzen, and I can't compare it to The Secret History except for the academia bit. I expected Elsie and the witchcraft angle to be much more prominent, so it was interesting to have the story be more centered on Tovyah, who isn't exactly a sympathetic character (but are any of them really).
I found Kate, the window, to be very similar to the protagonist in World in that she was a bit of a blank slate through which the reader could discover the Rosenthals and their brand of Judaism, and be immersed in the mysticism right alongside Kate. For all that Kate had a personality, the book might as well have been written in third person; as a character she was entirely superfluous and served as more of a plot device to get close to Tovyah, Elsie, and Hannah and observe them in their natural (and sometimes unnatural) habitats.
It's an interesting time to publish a book about a devout Jewish family, especially one containing a stringently Zionist character, considering *gestures vaguely at everything* and it's particularly interesting that Hannah was portrayed as more of a villain and entirely unsympathetic through Kate's eyes; but even Tovyah, stridently atheist, is prickly and unlikeable.
This is very much a character- and relationship-driven work, especially as the circumstances of those characters remain often murky and unresolved (looking at you, Elsie). At the end, I couldn't quite figure out what the book was trying to say, what its purpose was, and that, even more so than the is-it-isn't-it vagueness of the supernatural, left me a little unsatisfied.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the eARC!
I found Kate, the window, to be very similar to the protagonist in World in that she was a bit of a blank slate through which the reader could discover the Rosenthals and their brand of Judaism, and be immersed in the mysticism right alongside Kate. For all that Kate had a personality, the book might as well have been written in third person; as a character she was entirely superfluous and served as more of a plot device to get close to Tovyah, Elsie, and Hannah and observe them in their natural (and sometimes unnatural) habitats.
It's an interesting time to publish a book about a devout Jewish family, especially one containing a stringently Zionist character, considering *gestures vaguely at everything* and it's particularly interesting that Hannah was portrayed as more of a villain and entirely unsympathetic through Kate's eyes; but even Tovyah, stridently atheist, is prickly and unlikeable.
This is very much a character- and relationship-driven work, especially as the circumstances of those characters remain often murky and unresolved (looking at you, Elsie). At the end, I couldn't quite figure out what the book was trying to say, what its purpose was, and that, even more so than the is-it-isn't-it vagueness of the supernatural, left me a little unsatisfied.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the eARC!
September 16, 2024
A literary fiction about an observant Jewish family written by someone from outside their world - so, not too surprisingly, they are portrayed as wildly dysfunctional. Despite such a stereotypical approach and doubts about Lloyd’s ability to write authentically about such characters - the author says in an interview he was helped to understand them because “part of my family is made up of religious Christians, so I’ve always been around very religious people”, and he even attended some Shabbat events with Orthodox Jews while a student at NYU - I mostly enjoyed the smartly written novel. It helps that early on he accurately pegs the casually antisemitic campus Marxist, who throws out slurs like “fascist” at observant Jews.
The Rosenthal family starts to fall apart when mother Hannah learns that her dying father in law was a camp Sonderkommando - a Jew who assisted the Nazis in their extermination procedures typically in return for slightly better treatment and delayed death themselves. She writes a bestselling memoir exposing their family’s details, alienating the couple’s three minor children. Daughter Elsie, 14, disappears and returns days later, a disturbed near-stranger. Older son Gideon makes aliyah to Israel and joins the army. Youngest son Tovyah eventually escapes to Oxford, where he alienates almost everyone with his prickly demeanor, and who feels alienated from Oxford and most everything and everyone else himself.
The novel is marketed as horror based on Hannah’s suspicions that Elsie has secretly been studying Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition, and used its magic to contact her dead grandfather, whose spirit may have possessed her. Bless all the PR folk at publishing houses trying to market a debut novel, they do what they can. This is only one strand of the narrative however, and the question of whether Elsie is possessed or merely suffering from mental illness is meant to be left open to interpretation (can a 14 year old have a good understanding of Kabbalah in the first place? Highly doubtful!). The novel is more focused on Tovyah and his difficulties trusting and relating to other people while at Oxford, making it more of a campus novel in addition to a dysfunctional family novel.
Follow your own argument, Kate. You believe in subconscious inherited racism. But you also believe that after 3,000 years of antisemitism, none of that slime has stuck to the anti-Zionists, whose sole political aim is to kick us out of yet another country. You think those rowdy kids alone out of all humanity are free of unconscious bias, perfectly rational in their convictions.
The Rosenthal family starts to fall apart when mother Hannah learns that her dying father in law was a camp Sonderkommando - a Jew who assisted the Nazis in their extermination procedures typically in return for slightly better treatment and delayed death themselves. She writes a bestselling memoir exposing their family’s details, alienating the couple’s three minor children. Daughter Elsie, 14, disappears and returns days later, a disturbed near-stranger. Older son Gideon makes aliyah to Israel and joins the army. Youngest son Tovyah eventually escapes to Oxford, where he alienates almost everyone with his prickly demeanor, and who feels alienated from Oxford and most everything and everyone else himself.
The novel is marketed as horror based on Hannah’s suspicions that Elsie has secretly been studying Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition, and used its magic to contact her dead grandfather, whose spirit may have possessed her. Bless all the PR folk at publishing houses trying to market a debut novel, they do what they can. This is only one strand of the narrative however, and the question of whether Elsie is possessed or merely suffering from mental illness is meant to be left open to interpretation (can a 14 year old have a good understanding of Kabbalah in the first place? Highly doubtful!). The novel is more focused on Tovyah and his difficulties trusting and relating to other people while at Oxford, making it more of a campus novel in addition to a dysfunctional family novel.
Follow your own argument, Kate. You believe in subconscious inherited racism. But you also believe that after 3,000 years of antisemitism, none of that slime has stuck to the anti-Zionists, whose sole political aim is to kick us out of yet another country. You think those rowdy kids alone out of all humanity are free of unconscious bias, perfectly rational in their convictions.
June 3, 2024
A well-done novel depicting the complicated relationships in a middle-class Jewish family in London. The Rosenthal's are a modern orthodox family: Eric the father a barrister, Hannah the mother a journalist-writer and their three offspring: Gideon, Elsie, and Tovyah; the specter of Eric's father a Holocaust survivor who passes holds sway over the family's ethics, morals and beliefs.
Much of the action takes place at University in Oxford where Tovyah struggles to fit in with other students. His mother's practice of writing popular books about her own family becomes problematic for all three siblings. Another student who is half Jewish befriends Tovyah and part of the story is narrated from her perspective.
Elsie has an emotionally upsetting experience and is viewed as having serious mental health issues which are depicted by their mother in a best seller. The mother's ambition as a writer conflicting with the emotional wellbeing of her family.
The action moves quickly and is totally engaging and well depicted. The characters are relatable and authentic as they deal with issues related to atheism, Zionism, and Jewish mysticism.
Toby Lloyd appears to be an important emerging novelist who, in an interview, mentions Cynthia Ozick, Joshua Cohen and Philip Roth as inspirations; another author he reminded me of is Nathan Englander.
This is a great read easily digestible in a few extended sittings.
Much of the action takes place at University in Oxford where Tovyah struggles to fit in with other students. His mother's practice of writing popular books about her own family becomes problematic for all three siblings. Another student who is half Jewish befriends Tovyah and part of the story is narrated from her perspective.
Elsie has an emotionally upsetting experience and is viewed as having serious mental health issues which are depicted by their mother in a best seller. The mother's ambition as a writer conflicting with the emotional wellbeing of her family.
The action moves quickly and is totally engaging and well depicted. The characters are relatable and authentic as they deal with issues related to atheism, Zionism, and Jewish mysticism.
Toby Lloyd appears to be an important emerging novelist who, in an interview, mentions Cynthia Ozick, Joshua Cohen and Philip Roth as inspirations; another author he reminded me of is Nathan Englander.
This is a great read easily digestible in a few extended sittings.
April 1, 2024
“Yes, there was something obscene about the dead man refusing to give up the room hed lived in, like seeing someone’s chest unzipped by a surgeon, the fleshy heart pulsing in plain view.”
“I remember Elsie. Elsie wrapped in terrible light, her back ramrod straight. Who was she, then? The biblical daughter, burnt on the pyre of her mother's ambition? Or the fervent young believer, the girl who strayed too far? Or was she the impatient, Heaven-bound soul, casting off the shell of the body before her time? Tovyah would say that was nonsense, the lot of it. What happened, happened, the facts were all laid out. Her family had driven her insane.”
As many have said, not really horror at all, but a really well-done rumination on generational trauma and the individual identities that develop in response to a genocide on cultural identity.
“I remember Elsie. Elsie wrapped in terrible light, her back ramrod straight. Who was she, then? The biblical daughter, burnt on the pyre of her mother's ambition? Or the fervent young believer, the girl who strayed too far? Or was she the impatient, Heaven-bound soul, casting off the shell of the body before her time? Tovyah would say that was nonsense, the lot of it. What happened, happened, the facts were all laid out. Her family had driven her insane.”
As many have said, not really horror at all, but a really well-done rumination on generational trauma and the individual identities that develop in response to a genocide on cultural identity.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2024
3.5 if the ending had just a bit more rizz or insanity it would've been 5 stars
dnf
July 29, 2024Dnf 63%
May 28, 2024
4.5 stars, actually. Excellent writing. I'm not sure why this is tagged as "horror", but it does have some supernatural vibes. It reminds me in tone of Emma Donoghue's book The Wonder.
April 29, 2024
Oh my gosh, creeping terror? Yes please!
May 28, 2024
DNF at over 50% so really tried. Sometimes it felt more like a tutorial than a novel with caricatures sharing knowledge
November 17, 2025
FERVOR is the rare novel that manages to be intellectually rich, emotionally affecting, and narratively intriguing all at the same time. It’s a story about faith, trauma, and identity, but it’s also an atmospheric, almost ghostly story that leaves some key mysteries open to interpretation.
It's in the running for my favourite book of 2025.
Underneath a story about a young girl gone missing only to return as someone who is either deeply troubled or some kind of modern day mystic, is a book that raises questions about who gets to tell whose story, and at what cost. The book handles its big themes (faith, memory, trauma, the ethics of storytelling), without ever being heavy-handed. Lloyd doesn't offer easy answers, but leaves you with a lot to reflect on. In my opinion: the most interesting way to tell a story (most of the time!).
FERVOR is also a great example of the multiple-POV. Using dual perspectives isn't at all a gimmick here. It's a way to reveal how differently people can experience the same emotional event. Each voice adds dimension and contradiction, creating a layered portrait of a family in absolute crisis. It also forces us to think about who has the right to tell stories about other peoples' pain. What responsibilities does the teller have? Who has the right do to this? How can we be sure good intentions haven't become distorted?
Lloyd's debut (!) is thoughtful, haunting, and beautifully written. It's genuinely emotional, philosophically interesting, and suspenseful without being manipulative.
Complex themes handled with confidence.
A book that can stay with you.
Cannot recommend it highly enough.
It's in the running for my favourite book of 2025.
Underneath a story about a young girl gone missing only to return as someone who is either deeply troubled or some kind of modern day mystic, is a book that raises questions about who gets to tell whose story, and at what cost. The book handles its big themes (faith, memory, trauma, the ethics of storytelling), without ever being heavy-handed. Lloyd doesn't offer easy answers, but leaves you with a lot to reflect on. In my opinion: the most interesting way to tell a story (most of the time!).
FERVOR is also a great example of the multiple-POV. Using dual perspectives isn't at all a gimmick here. It's a way to reveal how differently people can experience the same emotional event. Each voice adds dimension and contradiction, creating a layered portrait of a family in absolute crisis. It also forces us to think about who has the right to tell stories about other peoples' pain. What responsibilities does the teller have? Who has the right do to this? How can we be sure good intentions haven't become distorted?
Lloyd's debut (!) is thoughtful, haunting, and beautifully written. It's genuinely emotional, philosophically interesting, and suspenseful without being manipulative.
Complex themes handled with confidence.
A book that can stay with you.
Cannot recommend it highly enough.
September 17, 2024
4.5 ⭐️
Mi è piaciuto molto, mi ha rapita sin dalle primissime pagine grazie alla prosa impeccabile, agli argomenti trattati e alla trama accattivante che però, secondo me, non rende del tutto ciò che effettivamente accade nel libro.
La famiglia Rosenthal è di religione ebraica, osservante fino ai limiti del fanatismo, ma soprattutto altamente disfunzionale. Nessuno dei personaggi è, a parer mio, creato per suscitare simpatia. Vengono tutti ritratti in modo impietoso nelle loro debolezze, fragilità e contraddizioni. Sono tuttavia ben costruiti e coerenti.
Lo stile di scrittura mi ha rapita sin dall’inizio, è davvero molto scorrevole e si legge in brevissimo tempo senza neppure rendersi conto delle pagine che scorrono tra le dita. Ammetto che il cambio di punto di vista non segnalato nel primo capitolo dedicato a Kate mi ha un po’ spiazzata, specialmente per l’uso della prima persona che io non gradisco, ma ciò dimostra che l’autore è stato abile a giostrarsi tra i suoi personaggi senza trovarsi in difficoltà.
È partito nel migliore dei modi ma a parer mio ha finito col perdersi più si avvicinava al finale. Offre molti spunti di riflessione interessanti e permette di conoscere in numerosi aspetti la religione ebraica, ma non ha dato una minima spiegazione di cosa si celasse in realtà dietro alla vicenda di Elsie e ai fenomeni paranormali che si sono susseguiti nella storia, lasciando al lettore il compito di farsi una propria idea e interpretazione. Questo mi ha infastidita perché avrei voluto che lo scrittore approfondisse e ci svelasse finalmente la verità, anche se comunque una mia idea me la sono fatta. L’epilogo resta criptico, pur offrendo già qualche spiraglio in più.
Tutto sommato resta un’ottima lettura che nel complesso mi ha soddisfatta.
Mi è piaciuto molto, mi ha rapita sin dalle primissime pagine grazie alla prosa impeccabile, agli argomenti trattati e alla trama accattivante che però, secondo me, non rende del tutto ciò che effettivamente accade nel libro.
La famiglia Rosenthal è di religione ebraica, osservante fino ai limiti del fanatismo, ma soprattutto altamente disfunzionale. Nessuno dei personaggi è, a parer mio, creato per suscitare simpatia. Vengono tutti ritratti in modo impietoso nelle loro debolezze, fragilità e contraddizioni. Sono tuttavia ben costruiti e coerenti.
Lo stile di scrittura mi ha rapita sin dall’inizio, è davvero molto scorrevole e si legge in brevissimo tempo senza neppure rendersi conto delle pagine che scorrono tra le dita. Ammetto che il cambio di punto di vista non segnalato nel primo capitolo dedicato a Kate mi ha un po’ spiazzata, specialmente per l’uso della prima persona che io non gradisco, ma ciò dimostra che l’autore è stato abile a giostrarsi tra i suoi personaggi senza trovarsi in difficoltà.
È partito nel migliore dei modi ma a parer mio ha finito col perdersi più si avvicinava al finale. Offre molti spunti di riflessione interessanti e permette di conoscere in numerosi aspetti la religione ebraica, ma non ha dato una minima spiegazione di cosa si celasse in realtà dietro alla vicenda di Elsie e ai fenomeni paranormali che si sono susseguiti nella storia, lasciando al lettore il compito di farsi una propria idea e interpretazione. Questo mi ha infastidita perché avrei voluto che lo scrittore approfondisse e ci svelasse finalmente la verità, anche se comunque una mia idea me la sono fatta. L’epilogo resta criptico, pur offrendo già qualche spiraglio in più.
Tutto sommato resta un’ottima lettura che nel complesso mi ha soddisfatta.
December 27, 2024
"If you're a Jew, and you're sensible, you do two things. Learn languages and collect passports."
This book just gets it. It's phenomenal, a deep, immersive, engaging read. I've seen it described as a horror story - I feel like the the real horror is intergenerational trauma. An ace portrayal of British Jewish life abutting an equal horror of assimilation and othering. Words can't really convey how good it is; I just recommend reading it. Now.
This book just gets it. It's phenomenal, a deep, immersive, engaging read. I've seen it described as a horror story - I feel like the the real horror is intergenerational trauma. An ace portrayal of British Jewish life abutting an equal horror of assimilation and othering. Words can't really convey how good it is; I just recommend reading it. Now.
March 25, 2024
So…this book was very interesting. I went into it with the idea it was going to center around a witchy Jewish girl and her family’s inability to accept her.
What I got was a heavy read of generational trauma and family drama. Not to say it was bad, I enjoyed it immensely, it reminded me of reading a dark academia book. But it was not marketed correctly in my opinion.
What I got was a heavy read of generational trauma and family drama. Not to say it was bad, I enjoyed it immensely, it reminded me of reading a dark academia book. But it was not marketed correctly in my opinion.
February 11, 2025
*Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers, and the author for a free e-copy in exchange for an honest review.*
Actual Rating: 2.8
I went into this book knowing very little about it other than that it had a very pretty cover, and it was about a Jewish family with a daughter suspected of being a witch, and a son who no longer has faith in religion. Add a grandfather who survived the Holocaust and a mother who just wants to put all those stories in a sensationalist novel, and you get one very complicated family.
To start with, this isn’t really the horror/mystery it says it is. Elsie is not a huge part of the story and the book was written often from an “outsider’s” perspective — that of Kate, who is a family friend. This is where I do see the first of the The Secret History comparisons, with the second one being the general mysticism of the writing style.
While I did like the writing, however, I wish there was less distance between us and the characters as I found it difficult to become really emotionally invested. I wonder what the story might’ve been if we’d gotten a more inside look at each of the family members, rather than being ping-ponged between the parents’ perspective and Kate. It was like watching zoo animals through a sheet of glass — which has its own merits, but I definitely found Elsie to be the most intriguing character, followed by Hannah. Plot-wise, it actually doesn’t seem like there’s a very strong through line, as opposed to just following these characters, so I noticed my interest waxing and waning with their screentime.
There were some interesting conversations about the Jewish faith but once again, it doesn’t seem very cohesive throughout, as opposed to a few anecdotes or stories here and there, sometimes very on-the-nose and sometimes very opaque.
Overall, I think the best part of this book for me was the writing style — I really did enjoy the lyricism and poeticism of it, but didn’t really connect to the actual content.
Actual Rating: 2.8
I went into this book knowing very little about it other than that it had a very pretty cover, and it was about a Jewish family with a daughter suspected of being a witch, and a son who no longer has faith in religion. Add a grandfather who survived the Holocaust and a mother who just wants to put all those stories in a sensationalist novel, and you get one very complicated family.
To start with, this isn’t really the horror/mystery it says it is. Elsie is not a huge part of the story and the book was written often from an “outsider’s” perspective — that of Kate, who is a family friend. This is where I do see the first of the The Secret History comparisons, with the second one being the general mysticism of the writing style.
While I did like the writing, however, I wish there was less distance between us and the characters as I found it difficult to become really emotionally invested. I wonder what the story might’ve been if we’d gotten a more inside look at each of the family members, rather than being ping-ponged between the parents’ perspective and Kate. It was like watching zoo animals through a sheet of glass — which has its own merits, but I definitely found Elsie to be the most intriguing character, followed by Hannah. Plot-wise, it actually doesn’t seem like there’s a very strong through line, as opposed to just following these characters, so I noticed my interest waxing and waning with their screentime.
There were some interesting conversations about the Jewish faith but once again, it doesn’t seem very cohesive throughout, as opposed to a few anecdotes or stories here and there, sometimes very on-the-nose and sometimes very opaque.
Overall, I think the best part of this book for me was the writing style — I really did enjoy the lyricism and poeticism of it, but didn’t really connect to the actual content.
June 18, 2024
2.5 stars rounded down
Was really excited for this but was left disappointed.
The blurb doesn’t really reflect the novel, and I think it might be because the novel is unfocused and has too many threads that it does not adequately bring to a conclusion, and so the confusion is reflected in the blurb.
The narrator is a character called Kate who is not part of the Rosenthal family and is entirely unnecessary to the plot. For some reason, she functions as a screen through which we see the family, but it adds confusion to the focus of the novel and obscures any of the themes trying to be explored about the Rosenthals. It left me unable to properly understand any of the characters. Tovyah would’ve been a much more convincing and compelling narrator.
From the conversations on Zionism and Israel in the novel, it seems that the author is probably an anti-Zionist, speaking through Kate and Tovyah’s squabbles with Hannah Rosenthal who is a fervent right-wing Zionist. However, due to the weak characterisation of Kate and Tovyah, the novel doesn’t present a convincing enough opposition to the Rosenthal family’s staunch Zionism which left me unsatisfied and frustrated. I wonder if Kate and Tovyah are intentionally written as wishy-washy, but I think it might just be bad writing because everything felt unclear and unresolved.
Despite all these negatives, I was never bored while reading the novel and Tovyah was an interesting character. But ultimately, the novel failed to be convincing.
Was really excited for this but was left disappointed.
The blurb doesn’t really reflect the novel, and I think it might be because the novel is unfocused and has too many threads that it does not adequately bring to a conclusion, and so the confusion is reflected in the blurb.
The narrator is a character called Kate who is not part of the Rosenthal family and is entirely unnecessary to the plot. For some reason, she functions as a screen through which we see the family, but it adds confusion to the focus of the novel and obscures any of the themes trying to be explored about the Rosenthals. It left me unable to properly understand any of the characters. Tovyah would’ve been a much more convincing and compelling narrator.
From the conversations on Zionism and Israel in the novel, it seems that the author is probably an anti-Zionist, speaking through Kate and Tovyah’s squabbles with Hannah Rosenthal who is a fervent right-wing Zionist. However, due to the weak characterisation of Kate and Tovyah, the novel doesn’t present a convincing enough opposition to the Rosenthal family’s staunch Zionism which left me unsatisfied and frustrated. I wonder if Kate and Tovyah are intentionally written as wishy-washy, but I think it might just be bad writing because everything felt unclear and unresolved.
Despite all these negatives, I was never bored while reading the novel and Tovyah was an interesting character. But ultimately, the novel failed to be convincing.
July 22, 2024
This was marketed to me as a horror novel. It's not a horror novel. If you go in expecting it to be one, you will be disappointed, even though creepy things happen that are never explained or resolved. It is mostly a dysfunctional family novel steeped in Jewish mysticism. It's too bad, because it could've been a hell of a horror novel.
May 20, 2024
dnf @ around 30-40 ish percent
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