Fran Fabriczki on “Homelooseness” and a Love Letter to Los Angeles
From The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That Shaped Them by Tali Rosenblatt Cohen
May 12, 2026 · 42 min
About this episode
Fran Fabriczki discusses her experiences growing up between Hungary and Los Angeles, exploring themes of cultural richness and antisemitism.
In this conversation, Fran Fabriczki discusses coming of age between Hungary and Los Angeles and her experiences with cultural richness and antisemitism between the two countries. We also discuss “homelooseness” in The Nearest Thing to Life by James Wood, and JD Salinger’s relationship with Jewishness through his short story “Down at the Dinghy.” Fran Fabriczki was born in Budapest. She has lived in Los Angeles and currently lives in London. She studied English at the University of Cambridge and worked in publishing for several years before becoming a novelist. She graduated from the University of East Anglia’s Creative Writing MA in 2022. Porcupines is her debut novel. In Porcupines, Sonia is a Hungarian immigrant who is raising her daughter, Mila on her own in sunny Los Angeles. Her days are a blur of not-quite-illegal business activities, dodging PTA moms, and baking birthday cakes laced with rum—minor mistakes that nevertheless continually remind her of everything she doesn’t understand about America and parenthood. Mila, meanwhile, is juggling violin and swimming lessons and navigating the treacherous social politics of school with the help of a less-than-helpful guidebook…
People in this episode
Host: Tali Rosenblatt Cohen
Guest: Fran Fabriczki
Topics covered
- cultural richness
- antisemitism
- immigration
- coming of age
- Jewish identity
Keywords
- Fran Fabriczki
- Los Angeles
- Hungary
- antisemitism
- Jewishness
- Porcupines
- coming of age
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: The Nearest Thing to Life, Down at the Dinghy, Porcupines
Places: Hungary, Los Angeles, London
More episodes of The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That Shaped Them
- Laurie Frankel on the Jewish Ability to Hold Multiple Truths · June 9, 2026 · 54 min
- Nicholas Lemann on Being Jewish in the Shadow of the American South · May 26, 2026 · 1h 8m
- Adeena Sussman on Flavor as a Jewish Language · April 28, 2026 · 48 min
- Alicia Jo Rabins on Composing a Life of Meaning · April 14, 2026 · 53 min
- Matti Friedman on the Stories that Built a People · March 31, 2026 · 1h 2m
- Zeeva Bukai on the Fragments that Make Us Whole · March 17, 2026 · 54 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That Shaped Them podcast page.