Fervor
A Novel
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
* FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION and DEBUT FICTION * FINALIST FOR THE SAMI ROHR PRIZE *
A “magnificent” (The New York Times), chilling, and unforgettable story of a close-knit British Jewish family pushed to the brink when they suspect their daughter is a witch.
Hannah and Eric Rosenthal are devout Jews living in North London with their three children and Eric’s father Yosef, a Holocaust survivor. Both intellectually gifted and deeply unconventional, the Rosenthals believe in the literal truth of the Old Testament and in the presence of God (and evil) in daily life. As Hannah prepares to publish an account of Yosef's years in war-torn Europe—unearthing a terrible secret from his time in the camps—Elsie, her perfect daughter, starts to come undone. And then, in the wake of Yosef’s death, she disappears. When she returns, just as mysteriously as she left, she is altered in disturbing ways.
Witnessing the complete transformation of her daughter, Hannah begins to suspect that Elsie has delved too deep into the labyrinths of Jewish mysticism and gotten lost among shadows. But for Elsie’s brother Tovyah, the truth is much simpler: his sister is the product of a dysfunctional family, obsessed with rituals, traditions, and unbridled ambition. But who is right? Is religion the cure for the disease or the disease itself? And how can they stop the darkness from engulfing Elsie completely?
Bristling with the energy of a great campus novel and the unsettling, ever-shifting ground of a great horror tale, Fervor is a powerful family story—and “fans of Isaac Bashevis Singer and Stephen King alike will thrill to this superb modern folk tale” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lloyd debuts with a gripping and powerful story of a British Jewish family visited by ghosts and divided by politics. While growing up in London in the 1990s, Elsie Rosenthal bonds with her paternal grandfather Yosef, a Holocaust survivor from Warsaw who lives in the attic. She's 14 when she overhears Yosef on his deathbed telling her journalist mother, Hannah, about his collaboration with the Nazis in exchange for marginally better treatment, and how he continues to be tormented by memories of a nine-year-old orphan boy named Ariel, whom he escorted to the gas chamber at Treblinka. After Yosef dies, Elsie's father, Eric, defies his wishes to be cremated and gives him a proper Jewish burial. Shortly after the funeral, Elsie goes missing for several days. When the police finally bring her home, she exhibits a haunted demeanor and claims to be able to see dead people including Yosef and Ariel. She develops anorexia and attempts suicide, and her mother accuses her of witchcraft and demonic possession. A parallel narrative follows her younger brother Tovyah at Oxford University in 2008, where he is tormented by classmates who call his mother a "fascist" for publishing a pro-Israel op-ed during bombings of Gaza. Lloyd's panoply of secular, atheistic, and strictly observant characters set the stage for complex discussions of antisemitism and Zionism and a dramatic spiritual reckoning, as Elise remains haunted by Yosef and his unmet final wishes. Fans of Isaac Bashevis Singer and Stephen King alike will thrill to this superb modern folk tale.
