A “striking, beautifully rendered” novel of love gone wrong, by the author of National Book Award finalist The Bird Artist (The Washington Post Book World). Devotion is an unconventional love story that begins with the recounting of an unlikely crime. Shortly after his marriage to Maggie Field, David Kozol and his father-in-law, William, came to blows on a London sidewalk. William stumbled backward into the path of a taxi, and eleven months later he is still convalescing—and begrudgingly accepting David’s assistance. Estranged from Maggie and desperate to get her back, David has taken over William’s job as caretaker of a large rural estate on the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. There, he tends to the main house, his father-in-law, and the resident flock of cranky, impertinent swans. The love between him and Maggie had been instantaneous and intense, and her absence is a constant reminder of how real and enduring it is. But sometimes small things lead to big damages, and strenuous effort is required for even the chance of recovery. “Rarely has such a short novel touched on so many important truths or probed such operatic depths.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch “Any novel by Howard Norman is cause for celebration. . . . He demonstrates with marveling deliberation that devotion is its own romantic adventure.” —Lorrie Moore “Perhaps his best novel yet.” —The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
