Fervour

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

Toby Lloyd has published stories and essays in Carve Magazine, the Los Angeles Review of Books and elsewhere. He earned an MFA in creative writing from NYU and was longlisted for the 2021 V. S. Pritchett Short Story Prize. He lives in London.