Hot Stew

Review An Esquire April Book Club Selection A BuzzFeed May Book Club Selection “Stunningly clever . . . Mozley’s vision of London, simultaneously ancient and deeply modern, is layered with mystery and packed with humanity.”—Mary Sollosi, Entertainment Weekly “Thrilling . . . [Hot Stew] is so precise and granular in its evocation of London that it made me thoroughly homesick while reading it. And Mozley is very good on the degree to which circumstance shapes interior life.”—Emma Brockes, The New York Times Book Review “With masterful prose, through over a half-dozen point-of-view characters, [Mozley] tells a story about money and power, love and art, sex work and gentrification—and those are just some of the proteins in this complex stew . . . Mozley writes convincingly about class and gender dynamics . . . Enjoyable and impressive on every page. Mozley brings Soho to clanging life.” —Steph Cha, USA Today “Mozely returns with her sophomore effort in Hot Stew, a sprawling, ambitious work of social realism about Londoners whose messy lives converge in the city's storied neighborhood of Soho.”—Adrienne Westenfeld, Esquire “Hot Stew is expansive and ribald . . . It’s ambitious, clever, brilliant and very funny. If Elmet announced the arrival of a bright new voice in British literature, Hot Stew confirms Mozley as a writer of extraordinary empathic gifts.” —Alex Preston, The Observer (UK) “A dazzling Dickensian tale . . . [Mozley] has reinvigorated large-scale social realism for our times.” —The Guardian (UK) “Fiona Mozley’s hypnotic debut, Elmet, was a standout novel of 2018. Her much-anticipated follow-up takes place in London’s Soho, where a young millionaire intent on converting an old building into luxury condos finds out the hard way that its tenants—specifically two sex workers whose brothel is based in the building—won’t leave without a fight.”—BuzzFeed “This lively story of class conflict in contemporary London offers more evidence of Mozley’s talent and versatility, marking her as a writer whose work promises both thoughtful entertainment and surprises . . . Mozley brings her diverse settings to life, as well as the clashing desires and ambitions of her colorful characters . . . Mozley consistently stirs in tasty ingredients and exciting spices, and keeps raising the temperature all the way to its startling climax.” —BookPage “Compelling, compassionate . . . Mozley's character sketches are delightful and engaging: detailed, complicated, flawed and beautiful . . . An absorbing story of connections and change.” —Shelf Awareness “Riveting . . . A story chronicling the lives of residents in a Soho brothel as they fight back against London's gentrification.” —Refinery29 “Before the action even starts, Booker Prize finalist Mozley fills the place with so much gritty, fascinating character that you’ll want to move in.” —Jim Kiest, San Antonio Express-News “Set in present-day London, Mozley’s anticipated follow-up to Elmet—her Booker Prize shortlisted debut—follows the struggle between the haves and the have-nots over a building. Mozley’s newest novel explores themes like wealth, gentrification, power, and gender dynamics.”—The Millions, “Most Anticipated: The Great First-Half 2021 Book Preview” “[An] absurdly good read . . . A rollicking tale of . . . property and posterity.”​—The Guardian (UK) “A fantastical novel about the city’s messy, mutable nature . . . Mozley's writing often takes on a lyrical, almost fairytale quality.”—Financial Times (UK) “A passionate and bruising take on the side effects of an increasingly unequal world, in which the rich and the poor function on alarmingly separate if parallel planes.”—Booklist “Mozley leaves the Yorkshire countryside of her Booker-shortlisted Elmet for the gritty streets of London in this lively contemporary Dickensian outing set in a Soho brothel… Mozley’s ambition and vision make this a worthy effort.”—Publishers Weekly “[A] loose, witty, soapy story..