Howl

by Howard Jacobson

A pitch-black novel of obsession and pain about a headmaster grappling with world events and existential despair

A tragicomic portrait of one man's unravelling in an absurd, twisted world, Howl is the propulsive new novel from Booker-Prize winner Howard Jacobson.

'The undisputed British master of black comedies' Observer

In the aftermath of October 7, Ferdinand Draxler walks the streets of London in despair. Everything has changed - the sights, the sound, the spirit. He too is not who he was. Is he at the crossroads of history or is it just a bend in the cul-de-sac of his own gloomy nature?

The son of a Holocaust survivor who accuses him of cowardice and the father of a daughter who sees him as complicit in genocide, Draxler fixates on bad news. He shouts at the television. He carries his own tin of paint to cover up graffiti. The staffroom at the primary school of which he is headmaster has become a battlefield of inflamed opinion he does nothing to quiet.

His wife Charmian is a beacon of calm but even she isn't sure she can save Ferdie from himself. 'Don't worry about me,' he tells her. 'I don't have what it takes to go mad.'

'Jacobson's writing is virtuoso. He is the master of shifting tones, from the satirical to the serious. His prose has the sort of elastic precision you only get from a writer who is truly in command' Independent

Genres: Fiction, Jewish, Literary Fiction

294 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2026

About the author

Howard Jacobson was born in Manchester, England, and educated at Cambridge. His many novels include The Mighty Walzer (winner of the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize), Who’s Sorry Now? and Kalooki Nights (both longlisted for the Man Booker Prize), and, most recently, The Act of Love. Jacobson is also a respected critic and broadcaster, and writes a weekly column for the Independent. He lives in London.

Profile of Howard Jacobson in The New York Times.

“The book's appeal to Jewish readers is obvious, but like all great Jewish art — the paintings of Marc Chagall, the books of Saul Bellow, the films of Woody Allen — it is Jacobson's use of the Jewish experience to explain the greater human one that sets it apart. Who among us is so certain of our identity? Who hasn't been asked, "What's your background" and hesitated, even for a split second, to answer their inquisitor? Howard Jacobson's The Finkler Question forces us to ask that of ourselves, and that's why it's a must read, no matter what your background.”—-David Sax, NPR.

Reviews

[Jan Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a family, and a particular person, Ferdinand (Ferdie) Draxler, who's traumatized by the jubilant and hateful reactions beginning on October 8, to the October 7, 2023 massacre. He lives in London. He's the headmaster of a primary school. His phylosemitic but non-Jewish wife is showing great forbearance and sympathy. His college-age daughter is not; she has donned a kaffiyeh and taken up marching and chanting. His assistant also has so-called pro-Palestinian sympathies. Ferdie can hardly manage his own reactions, much less those of his coworkers and students. He (and his brother) are second-generation survivors; their mother is indomitable, inscrutable, and of indeterminate age. That's a brief list of the book's main characters. This being a Howard Jacobson book, the protagonist responds with manic wordplay barely covering his distress. That -- the wordplay and pain -- makes up the body of this book. It's hilarious but stressful, using extended soliloquy for character (and to some extent) plot development. I started it out as a read-out-loud project but that was too slow. I needed to find out what happened, but not so much in the usual sense. I wanted to find out what the author was going to do. Was it going to be a conventional resolution? I hoped not; that would have been a disappointment. I wanted understanding and care. And there it was, finally. The body of the book contained send-ups of every pro-Palestinian chant and orthodoxy you could think of. He -- the author -- was on intimate terms with them all. He was funny. He was hysterical. And you feel Ferdie's pain. So, the resolution -- the peak, the climax -- is very welcome. It was really a long time coming, though. ... But that denouement: that, I'm still thinking about.

The unusual thing about this book is that it hasn't been published here in the US. Our touted freedom of speech seems to apply only to majority speech. This was too explosive, or so it must be. People would protest. People would picket. There would be reaction. There might be violence.

When a book hasn't been published here, it's not in bookstores. It's not on Amazon. It's not in the libraries.

I got it from AbeBooks. I wanted to see if it's worthwhile -- and it is: 5 stars' worth.

Some of you will remember Michel Houellebecq's 2015 novel Submission. I do; never forgot it. As matter of fact, just gave it a second read. So what came to my mind is, what if France had failed to publish that? That's in essence what we have here: even the same split in reviews, with some panning it as hateful nonsense and others lauding it, and so forth. I'm a lauder.

Maybe this is how it was when the young Philip Roth published Portnoy’s Complaint. Suppose it hadn't been published?

No, no graphic sex. Just ideas and beliefs you're not supposed to have, lest those who disagree experience the pain of cognitive dissonance (and might change their minds).

I'm hypothesizing fear on the part of the suppressors.

Literature is powerful.

Addendum, July 26, 2026: The silence is beginning to break. Great new review in Tablet https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/ar...

[Mervyn Whyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to be honest and say, there's too much in here that I don't understand. That doesn't make it a poor book - far from it - but if I don't understand it, I can't really say whether it's good or bad, worthy or worthless, well-written or badly-written. I understand this is a book about madness, and that the not-understandable is an inherent part of madness. Maybe even the sine qua non. I understand Howard Jacobson when I hear him being interviewed. And agree with most of what he says. But as I don't understand a lot of what's written in this book, I can't say if I agree or disagree with it. Maybe it doesn't matter, or maybe it matters a great deal. Probably both. Reading back this review, I don't much understand that either. So, confusion is my overriding feeling. And in the final analysis, that is probably what Jacobsen is trying to achieve. Anyway, back to my Duke of Wellington book. That I can understand.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and heartbreaking in equal measure. There’s something deeply healing about recognising a sense of twinship in someone who captures that same sense of isolation and disconnection from humanity during that time. The crowd were empathy barren, full of people swept up in a kind of collective frenzy, quick to judge, slow to empathise.

The atmosphere was stark and polarised, dominated by black-and-white thinking, where nuance disappeared and everything is filtered through a lens of good vs evil. It’s an unsettling reminder of a bloodthirsty crowd caught in its own rigid, unhearing mindset.

It captures how painful it was, as a Jewish person, to witness others celebrating October 7th, people gathering in the streets, tearing down posters, and framing it as “resistance,” while at the same time denying or dismissing the reality of what had happened.

[Erika Dreifus · Rating 5 out of 5]

A darkly comic depiction of the madness that so many Jews in the Diaspora have encountered/experienced since October 7, 2023. Published in the author's native Britain in early March, it is as yet unpublished in the United States.

[Neville Filar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning read.

One man's take on what it is to be Jewish at this time. Where truth has given way to lies. Where falsity rules. And where to be Jewish is as difficult as it's ever been in this country

This is a tour de force. Bravo HJ!

[Ria Mishra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could not go beyond 4 pages. Its a comedy alright, even a zionist would cringe lmao. The guy literally described a woman with a preschooler as " one of the creamy skinned milkmaid mothers of our age, more girlish in their gymslips than their daughter". Zionist version of she boobed boobily down the stairs. Had to do my part in bring the rating down because 90% of goodreads is bots and idiots

[sjb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Far too self indulgent

[Sim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mix of humour and tragedy with a father-child rupture reminiscent of the story of Absalom and a fall from position and comfort reminiscent of the story of Job.

Sometimes you’re chuckling, such as when Draxler picks up his daughter’s copy of Edward Said’s ‘Orientalism’, suggests it must be for a course entitled Peevishness and Revolution, ‘flicks the pages’ and says ‘there, I’ve re-read it’. Ouch! (The author is not a fan of Noam Chomsky either, and that was pre the Epstein revelations!)

But for much of the book you’re re-living the awfulness of the post-7 October 2023 world. Why did the anti-Israel ‘peace’ marches start immediately after the Nova music festival massacre? Why were so many living in the West expressing elation at what had happened (and calling for more Jews to die), even before Israel’s remorseless response in Gaza?

One of the issues with this book is that it feels a bit like it needs a sequel because we are still living in the post ‘October 7’ world, with much yet to play out.

PS I’ve just read Howard Jacobson’s article ‘Adieu Academe’ which has some similar themes to this book and I’d recommend that too.

[Marjorie Hewitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Howl

A revelation! Howard Jacobson has explained where we are in this messed up world and how we got here with his marvellous Jewish humour.

I have loved reading his books for years.

Howl contains both the truth and the hideous truth of our times.

I’m off to a high mountain top to think of Howl for quite a long while.

[AdiTurbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful novel that realistically presents the deep hypocrisy and mass hysteria involved in the hatred against Israel, Israelis and Jews around the world at this period of time, beyond legitimate criticism and political disagreements. I did not always agree with the main hero's views and perceptions of the situation, but the depiction of the effects of the hatred you learn to constantly expect as a Jew is certainly very accurate. The novel actually presents some very different ways of dealing with the anxiety, blame and humiliation, from going over the edge with fear and anger to being mildly entertained, ridiculing and keeping a distance from it all, as much as possible.
No matter what you think of the situation in Israel or outside of it, it's a very interesting read, and Jacobson's mastery of language makes it also a brilliant one, full of dark humor, emotional truth and sharp social and political commentary.

[Helen Rudolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Ferdinand Drexler, a type of Everyman Jew struggling to deal with the insanity of the post 7 October world in the diaspora (more precisely Streatham in South London. The first third or so of this book is great comic and dramatic writing. It spirals off a bit in the middle of the novel but gets back on track til the very end which I have to say I struggled to follow. Jacobson is a superb comic writer, he captures the spirit of the present time with insight and self deprecating humour but the switch between a kind of magic realism and real life didn’t quite work for me.

[Elior · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jacobson asks, when the hostile groupthink of the mob comes aggressively for you, is it possible to remain sane and measured in the face of the constant bombardment. If you've read Jacobson before, you'll know the answer he gives in his typical brilliant combination of satire, disgust, and wit, as a fearless Jewish novelist in a world indecently excited and thrilled to accuse Jews of all its own worst crimes.

[Lee Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0 - The madness of massacre and hate both historical and present infect the protagonist (as it does all of us). Whilst interesting and deliberately provoking notions are put forward, the book felt repetitive and left me unengaged at points, though as ever, Jacobson is a fine stylist.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, an accurate, yet harrowing, depiction of the libels, gaslighting and hatred since more than 1,200 people were killed by Hamas in Israel on 7th October 2023.

It captures the feelings of isolation, alienation, exclusion, confusion and bafflement many of the UK's Jews are feeling at present.

The language used in the book had me reaching for a dictionary on many occasions, so I have certainly improved my vocabulary!

[Benjamin Farr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot to unpack with this one, and at times it is a challenging and emotionally heavy read.

'Howl' feels remarkably contemporary and raw, capturing the anxiety, grief, anger, and uncertainty that has emerged in the wake of a world gone mad with anti-Israel protests and an extreme rise in antisemitism.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am an interested reader of Howard Jacobson's blog, although not so captivated by his novels. Bravely I grabbed this, his latest offering, as soon as the library could provide a copy.
The October 2023 Hamas attack has happened, and the Israelis have retaliated.
Ferdinand Draxler, a Jewish Londoner, is bewildered by the anti-semitic response and huge sympathy for Palestinians that he finds in his home country. The virulence of the response is overstated and quite unbelievable. At this point it is necessary to be reminded that this is satire; the overstatement is deliberate. Gradually Ferdie works his way through his own unhingedness. His visit to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is particularly delightful.
The book is dryly amusing. The chapter headings add entertainment.
About two thirds of the way through I started to feel it dragging a bit, but I saw it through to the fantastical end.
Now in March 2026 the State of Israel and the US are violently attacking on other fronts, and we don't hear much about Gaza ...

[Vincent Coole · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book I am glad that exists as it attempts to put a lens on how the October 7th massacre led to Jewish people being labelled as complicit in all the events that followed. A brave novel by Howard Jacobson, although his writing, so witty and an intelligently argued, never comes across as preachy, and the Catch 22-esque characters all contribute the absurdity of the situations protagonist Ferdinand Draxler finds himself in. Almost Orwellian aswell, Draxler finds himself in a dystopian environment in which even his own daughter makes a stand against Israel (but really her father). Draxler is the archetypal Jewish male Jacobson tends to use, and often seems wimpish against the females in his life, his wife Charmian and his holocaust surviving mother. They often feel like characters in a play for Ferdinand to bounce ideas of and not especially well developed in themselves. His brother Isaac and deputy head Max seem to go through more character development, even if again they border on the absurd. Not hugely plot driven and it’s structured mainly by episodes of dialogue, but which is often so sharp, this is sometimes all you really need.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

hOWL was precisely what you would expect from Howard Jacobson - a v well written, witty stream of consciousness with a v Jewish theme, light on plot, he didn't even bother to use different names - we have a Zoe in this book, like we had a Chloe & Zoe in Kalooki Nights, and , just like in Kalooki Nights, he has a non Jewish wife, which serves as a useful sounding board. We have a character who was a very religious Jew but is now secular, and a kippah wearing pro Gazan Jewish convert. The book is somewhat crazy, just like the main character, but, having said all that,I found it a v engaging read, unlike Kalooki Nights which was DNF for me. In true Jacobson style, even the title has a deep meaning, the lower case signifying the unravelling of existential despair! Having said all this, it was an entertaining read if you choose to side step all the deep religious and political issues!

[Jordan]

Two ways to read this: first, unfunny self-satisfied boomer screed; second, satirical portrait of an insane man and his neuroses. Sadly towards the end Jacobson can't help but throw down the gauntlet. Everyone from the thus far fairly agnostic in religion but faithful to Zionism narrator, to the athiestic pro-Palestinian daughter, to the formerly orthodox but wavering in faith brother suddenly becomes devoutly Jewish and forthrightly Zionist.

The novel only seems to make any sense if you consider everything from around the narrator's visit to the doctor onwards as a prescription-pill and alcohol fuelled fugue, and then the epilogue a hallucinatory and somewhat dystopian vision of the narrator's idea of a heavenly afterlife.

[Paul Fulcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty punchy and one-sided novel from Howard Jacobson, but a necessary literary counterweight. The trade-mark, somewhat slapstick, humour is there, but overshadowed by the polemic, and actually the novel is strongest at its most essayistic, and less so at the level of plot.

Hasheen's English wasn't perfect but he employed the past conditional tense with great expertise. 'I am celebrating what we did had it been true we did it,' he said.

In this, it has to be said, his thinking was no more byzantine than that of many better-educated commentators from around the world who argued that the Jews had asked for whatever hadn't happened to them.

[Di · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the wake of the Hamas atrocities of 7 October 2023, Ferdinand Draxler, like other Jews, lives through a world in which antisemitism,conflated with anti-Zionism, has become a world-wide phenomenon. Draxler is a principal of a primary school in London, married to Charmaine, a gentile woman. His mother, a survivor of Belsen, has her home daubed with swastikas. His daughter Zoe, marches in support of Palestinians, tearing down posters of Israeli victims. It’s billed as a tragi- comedy but I didn’t find much to laugh about. I found it very triggering. Draxler unravels as events pile one upon the other, finally finding refuge in a heavenly retreat.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a difficult read and I'm aware a lot of the intellectual humor went over my head. It is the story of a Jewish Londoner, son of a holocaust survivor and primary school headmaster falling apart in the aftermath of 7 October and the consequent tensions. It's about him coming to terms with who he is both in himself and in relation to his mother, wife, daughter, brother and colleagues. Hard hitting topics lie at the heart of the novel, with moment of humour, mainly around his use of language and grammar.

[Liat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captures the shock and pain felt by Jews worldwide in the immediate aftermath of October 7, followed by the historical inevitability of the world’s blame and hate although the swiftness by which the calls for Jewish (and Zionist) deaths came was surprising even to those familiar with history of the last 2,000 years. Howl recognises and repeats the questions Jews have asked time and again- do we need to leave? When will it be too late to do so? How will this end for us as a people? This book is an important recording of the way things have been for the last 3 years.

[Clive Lillie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Jacobsen fare. The obvious Jewish theme alongside a smart and witty examination of modern London admit the post Hamas Israel attacks.

You get to know I like the characters whilst allowing yourself to balance arguments around moral dilemma that the modern world provides.
The examine family, the Middle East, and education amongst other things. Most of all to be Jewish in modern London is examined with vigour

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about the madness of our time. The pain of alienation from a society gone mad, questions of belonging and meaning. It’s about one’s place in the world, but funny in its observation of absurdity.

The main character Ferdinand describes encountering anti-Zionist women on the steps of the National Gallery [who] ‘glue themselves to Rubens's Samson and Delilah in the National Gallery… because they confused Rubens the painter with Reubens the delicatessen in Golders Green’.

[Anton Grodeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is tragic that this book needed to be written. It is tough to read, particularly if you are Jewish, and of the left. Whilst the main character is a bit pompous for my liking, it is how i would picture an English Jewish intellectual Holocaust survivor to react to what occurred in The West after October 7. It has Howard Jacobson’s acerbic wit and fabulous turn of phrase, but on steroids. If you have not read one of his books before, it will shock you.

[Jane Fudger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would not usually read books like this[satirical novels] but it was recommended to me. The plot follows a Jewish headmaster of a English junior school and his reactions following the Hamas attack on Israel.
I admit that the book is a well written and provocative novel but it was also self indulgent. Darkly comic in places but unfortunately the plot portrayal was not for me.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was funny and had me laughing in what I think was the spirit intended. Some parts became a bit repetitive and obsessive, but then that might be the point. Some bits stretched credibility, but then that might be the point. I found the ending strange, but then that might be the point. Worth reading, and I think it was worth writing.

[Richard Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that I wanted to read to understand more about being a Jew in Britain today and because I always enjoy Jacobson's writing. I was not disappointed. My blog:
https://richardswsmith.wordpress.com/...

[Mr Steve Karmeinsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a 2nd Generation dead man on leave the book was interesting, saddening and I (sort of) felt bits that were very true (and some that were not) to me.

I don't know if it all felt true, but made me feel.