Front Row Howard Jacobson's new book, Howl
Mar 10, 2026
Howard Jacobson, Booker Prize-winning novelist, discusses his new novel Howl and its moral and comedic framing. Thea Gilmore, veteran singer-songwriter, presents The Echo Line project turning anonymous messages into songs and performs 'Sylvie'. They explore grief, Jewish identity, comedy amid outrage, and the ethics of transforming private voices into public music.
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Choosing A Moderated Jewish Perspective
- Jacobson deliberately made Ferdinand non-Jewish-by-marriage so his outrage isn't automatic but learned and moral rather than tribal.
- That choice lets the novel depict bewilderment shared by many Jewish people watching celebratory responses from neighbours and students.
Don't Write A March Let Comedy In
- Jacobson describes a novelist's duty as to avoid writing a march and let comedy and complexity soften polemic.
- He scrapped overt aggression after feedback, allowed comedy to seep in, and used character specificity to avoid sermonising.
Pivotal Street Confrontation Scene
- Jacobson recalls an early pivotal scene where Ferdinand confronts a marcher shouting “gas the Jews” and reacts with domestic pragmatism.
- That moment set the book's tone: angry comedy mixed with incredulous, everyday responses.
