Devotion

About the Book

'A glorious love story' – Sarah Winman, author of Still Life

'Extraordinarily daring . . . a remarkable novel, an almost visionary celebration of the death-defying power of the women’s love' - Sunday Times, Book of the Year

From a 19th-century Prussian village to the dusty plains of Australia, Devotion is a stunning story about the impossible lengths we go to for the ones we love, with a breathtaking twist. From the bestselling author of Burial Rites, Hannah Kent.

Hanne and Thea’s friendship is a miracle. Before, Hanne always felt apart from the local girls, but with Thea it all came easy. Suddenly she could imagine a future for herself, a happy one, by Thea’s side.

But when their tight-knit community embarks on a long and brutal journey to Australia, in search of new freedoms on old land, Hanne and Thea’s bond must find a way to survive the most impossible devastation.

Will their love prove too strong for even Nature to break?

Longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award

'Devotion had me constantly surprised, always entertained, and ultimately deeply moved' – Emma Stonex, author of The Lamplighters

'Exquisite . . . it's taken root in my heart' – Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies

'So beautiful and so raw . . . Impossibly good' – Evie Wyld, author of The Bass Rock

About the Author :
Hannah Kent’s first novel, Burial Rites, has been translated into over thirty languages and was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction (formerly the Orange Prize), the Guardian First Book Award and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. In Australia it won the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year and the Indie Awards Debut Fiction Book of the Year, amongst others. Her second novel, The Good People, was also translated into many languages and shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize. Devotion is her third novel.

Review :
Piercingly beautiful . . . [Hanne and Thea's] story is an elegy, freighted with loss and longing Such a glorious love story. And the poetry of the landscape had, for me, a Whitmanesque sensibility. A mighty impassioned cry to love and the land Hannah Kent’s latest novel is stunning - full of magic and adventure. I fell in love with language again reading it. So beautiful and so raw. Devotion is impossibly good With an extraordinarily daring twist halfway through its narrative Devotion is a remarkable novel, an almost visionary celebration of the death-defying power of the women’s love There’s a mesmerising, transcendent reverence for love and the land in Hannah Kent’s exquisitely-wrought novel . . . Passionate and poetic, Devotion is a slow burn of a novel, full of grace and emotional gravitas Devotion is rare and exquisite, both beautiful and muscular in its portrayal of love found and denied. It’s a story of love as a radical act, and a celebration of place and persistence. As we’ve come to expect from Kent, this is masterful storytelling with pull-no-punches stakes. It’s taken root in my heart Absolutely stunning. The writing, the characters and the twist were just perfect. Any Hannah Kent novel is guaranteed to be powerful, moving and so imaginative, but this was something else. It is a story that will stay with me. A superb novel. A fantastic merging of exquisite lyrical writing and page-turning adventure. Devotion had me constantly surprised, always entertained, and ultimately deeply moved: it deserves to be a glittering success. Kent tells her heroine's burgeoning love story beautifully [A] marvellous queer love story A tale of the refiguring might of faithful hearts; of love that sustains and love that ruins; of exile and dominion It is a love story, ardent and wholesome, and it drapes its reader in lush historical detail. Fans will find a lot to savour A poetic story of friendship, nature and what it means to step into a new world - both physically and spiritually Devotion, is nothing short of divine. Kent uses prose like a magician might use a wand. I could say so much about the depth and scope of this novel, its raw, powerful connection to nature and human emotion, and it still wouldn’t do it justice. Simply put, this is a beautiful book. A liturgy of love, full of grace and wonder. Kent combines lyrical writing with a strong sense of place in this novel that takes us from a 19th-century Prussian village to the dusty plains of Australia One of my favourite reads of the year . . . While there is great sadness and hardship here, this surprising novel is ultimately about beauty, nature and an epic love. I adored it Draped in rich historical detail, Hannah Kent's luminous and poignant story explores kindred spirits and an epic search for freedom Devotion is utterly original. A glorious heartbreaking love story of infinite beauty A modern classic, on par with heart wrenching love stories such as Wuthering Heights and Pride And Prejudice. It tells the story of an achingly beautiful love and a brutal search for freedom . . . A moving tale with a breathtaking twist Exceptional . . . there are not many novelists writing today who can conjure a European past as vividly as Hannah Kent . . . she is a master at immersing the reader in a particular place and a particular period, specialising in stories of women on the margins trapped in close-knit communities and claustrophobic situations