Fiona Mozley
@fjmozley.bsky.social
Novelist. New book AWAKE, AWAKE (2026). Also, ELMET (2017) and HOT STEW (2021). Booker-shortlisted. FRSL. Words in New York Times, Guardian, The Fence, British Vogue. Psychodynamic counsellor-in-training.
AWAKE, AWAKE (June 2026)
Waterstones discount code OCTOBER25
Waterstones discount code OCTOBER25
October 16, 2025 at 1:52 PM
AWAKE, AWAKE (June 2026)
Waterstones discount code OCTOBER25
Waterstones discount code OCTOBER25
Picked up some entry-level Pynchon to read on the train. Halfway through and totally lost. Send help.
July 20, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Picked up some entry-level Pynchon to read on the train. Halfway through and totally lost. Send help.
Always meet your heroes @brighteyesband.bsky.social
June 23, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Always meet your heroes @brighteyesband.bsky.social
The Prague Orgy (1985). Zuckerman goes to Prague in search of a lost Yiddish manuscript. Sounds amazing! Unfortunately (predictably?) he gets distracted by grim sex. I think Roth is trying to subvert totalitarianism with hedonism. Fine, but for me he doesn’t succeed. Lots of talk of underage girls🤢
January 2, 2025 at 2:32 PM
The Prague Orgy (1985). Zuckerman goes to Prague in search of a lost Yiddish manuscript. Sounds amazing! Unfortunately (predictably?) he gets distracted by grim sex. I think Roth is trying to subvert totalitarianism with hedonism. Fine, but for me he doesn’t succeed. Lots of talk of underage girls🤢
The Anatomy Lesson (1983). Zuckerman is in pain & seeks distraction. He has four different women on the go & contemplates going to medical school. Long, boring passages on the ethics of pornography. Overall, I thought this novel was garbage. I hated reading it & it kind of made me hate its author.
January 2, 2025 at 2:31 PM
The Anatomy Lesson (1983). Zuckerman is in pain & seeks distraction. He has four different women on the go & contemplates going to medical school. Long, boring passages on the ethics of pornography. Overall, I thought this novel was garbage. I hated reading it & it kind of made me hate its author.
The Humbling (2009). An ageing actor loses his talent & begins a romance with a younger lesbian. A part of me expected to hate it; another wished to be contrary & make excuses for it. In the event, much of the novel was pretty difficult to stomach but - as with most Roth - it’s complicated.
January 2, 2025 at 2:30 PM
The Humbling (2009). An ageing actor loses his talent & begins a romance with a younger lesbian. A part of me expected to hate it; another wished to be contrary & make excuses for it. In the event, much of the novel was pretty difficult to stomach but - as with most Roth - it’s complicated.
I finished The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden this weekend. I guess I’m pretty much the target audience and, as expected, I really enjoyed it.
December 8, 2024 at 1:50 PM
I finished The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden this weekend. I guess I’m pretty much the target audience and, as expected, I really enjoyed it.
Everyman (2006). Based on a medieval morality play in which the protagonist, confronted by death, must account for the life he has lived. I thought this was pretty bland, tbh. Just a procession of illness and extra-marital affairs. I wouldn’t bother reading it unless you’re being a Roth completist.
December 5, 2024 at 2:06 PM
Everyman (2006). Based on a medieval morality play in which the protagonist, confronted by death, must account for the life he has lived. I thought this was pretty bland, tbh. Just a procession of illness and extra-marital affairs. I wouldn’t bother reading it unless you’re being a Roth completist.
The Counterlife (1986). With an intricate structure, this is an examination of Jewish life in America, Israel, England; brotherhood & belonging. Absurd & profound, it prompted me to reflect on the particularities of English antisemitism (something he touches on in Deception too). His best? Maybe.
December 3, 2024 at 7:30 PM
The Counterlife (1986). With an intricate structure, this is an examination of Jewish life in America, Israel, England; brotherhood & belonging. Absurd & profound, it prompted me to reflect on the particularities of English antisemitism (something he touches on in Deception too). His best? Maybe.
Exit Ghost (2007). One of my favs. Once potent Zuckerman is now an old man- infirm, impotent & struggling with his memory. Roth is at his best when his men are vulnerable. Z revisits characters & themes from The Ghost Writer (1979) & deals with literary biography & unrequited love. Loved it.
December 3, 2024 at 11:31 AM
Exit Ghost (2007). One of my favs. Once potent Zuckerman is now an old man- infirm, impotent & struggling with his memory. Roth is at his best when his men are vulnerable. Z revisits characters & themes from The Ghost Writer (1979) & deals with literary biography & unrequited love. Loved it.
Zuckerman Unbound (1981). This was fine. Not much to say about it other than that it’s a humourous take on literary stardom. Zuckerman has released a controversial novel called “Carnovsky” (see Portnoy’s Complaint) and has to deal with the fallout.
December 2, 2024 at 11:51 AM
Zuckerman Unbound (1981). This was fine. Not much to say about it other than that it’s a humourous take on literary stardom. Zuckerman has released a controversial novel called “Carnovsky” (see Portnoy’s Complaint) and has to deal with the fallout.
Portnoy’s Complaint (1969). I mean, I like a bit of smut as much as the next person, but this was unbelievably gross! Yes, his prose is magnificent. Yes, it’s got the Oedipus Complex & struggle between id, ego and superego. Yes, it pushed boundaries. But, I mean, come on, Philip.
December 2, 2024 at 11:43 AM
Portnoy’s Complaint (1969). I mean, I like a bit of smut as much as the next person, but this was unbelievably gross! Yes, his prose is magnificent. Yes, it’s got the Oedipus Complex & struggle between id, ego and superego. Yes, it pushed boundaries. But, I mean, come on, Philip.
Shop Talk (2001). A collection of conversations with other writers from Primo Levi to Edna O’Brien. Super interesting on form and process.
December 2, 2024 at 11:42 AM
Shop Talk (2001). A collection of conversations with other writers from Primo Levi to Edna O’Brien. Super interesting on form and process.
The Plot Against America (2004). Wow. A counter-factual WW2 in which the USA is allied with Germany. He writes children so, so well, and examining these events through a child’s eyes is perfect. Naive narrator etc. Young Roth’s stamp collection is as important to him as high politics *chef’s kiss*
December 2, 2024 at 11:27 AM
The Plot Against America (2004). Wow. A counter-factual WW2 in which the USA is allied with Germany. He writes children so, so well, and examining these events through a child’s eyes is perfect. Naive narrator etc. Young Roth’s stamp collection is as important to him as high politics *chef’s kiss*
Deception (1990). This is seen as a weaker work, but I enjoyed it. Almost entirely dialogue (he’s really good at dialogue), it’s a series of conversations between a couple having an affair. Like a lot of his novels, it teases at the tension between the real and the fictional.
December 2, 2024 at 11:14 AM
Deception (1990). This is seen as a weaker work, but I enjoyed it. Almost entirely dialogue (he’s really good at dialogue), it’s a series of conversations between a couple having an affair. Like a lot of his novels, it teases at the tension between the real and the fictional.
The Human Stain (2000) might just have the worst title in literary history. Many consider this to be Roth’s masterpiece. Not me. He’s wonderful on a loss of male power, but I found the relationship with Faunia tedious (& not because I automatically object to age-gap relationships - I don’t)
December 2, 2024 at 11:08 AM
The Human Stain (2000) might just have the worst title in literary history. Many consider this to be Roth’s masterpiece. Not me. He’s wonderful on a loss of male power, but I found the relationship with Faunia tedious (& not because I automatically object to age-gap relationships - I don’t)
Next came The Ghost Writer (1979). The first novel to feature Roth’s alter-ego Nathan Zuckerman, a young writer who pays a visit to his hero E.I. Lonoff. Begins elegantly then takes a wild turn that pushes the limits of taste. This book made me want to be a braver, bolder writer & give fewer fucks.
December 2, 2024 at 11:04 AM
Next came The Ghost Writer (1979). The first novel to feature Roth’s alter-ego Nathan Zuckerman, a young writer who pays a visit to his hero E.I. Lonoff. Begins elegantly then takes a wild turn that pushes the limits of taste. This book made me want to be a braver, bolder writer & give fewer fucks.
I began with American Pastoral (1997). What is there left to say about it? An incredible, mind-blowing work of genius. Seymour “Swede” Levov’s life is upturned when his beloved daughter becomes involved in domestic terrorism. It made me a) want to write & write & write, and b) quit writing forever.
December 2, 2024 at 10:59 AM
I began with American Pastoral (1997). What is there left to say about it? An incredible, mind-blowing work of genius. Seymour “Swede” Levov’s life is upturned when his beloved daughter becomes involved in domestic terrorism. It made me a) want to write & write & write, and b) quit writing forever.
There’s something very sad about posing with someone else’s award. But I did it anyway.
(at Sonia Friedman Productions this afternoon)
(at Sonia Friedman Productions this afternoon)
November 27, 2024 at 7:39 PM
There’s something very sad about posing with someone else’s award. But I did it anyway.
(at Sonia Friedman Productions this afternoon)
(at Sonia Friedman Productions this afternoon)