Description
Book SynopsisA spellbinding confession of what it means to abandon one life for another,
The Devoted asks what it takes, and what you’ll sacrifice, to find enlightenment.
Trade Review"A rich and entertaining novel about a woman, a seeker, whose life, existence and relationships are all centered around a devout Buddhist meditation practice in Boston—until they aren't. I couldn't put it down." -- Anne Lamott, author of Almost Everything: Notes on Hope
"[An] intimate, fluid debut...The beauty of
The Devoted lies in its intricate descriptions of religion's hush and ritual... [A] novel as tender and fervent as a prayer." -- New York Times Book Review
"A belated coming-of-age novel with a quest at its core,
The Devoted is an assured and promising debut." -- Vogue
"Provocative... [A] terrifying but insightful warning not to look for easy answers offered by false prophets." -- Time
"[Hurley's] hand is confident and steady as she layers Zen teachings into the already complicated history of her novel's focal character... Hurley leaves you thinking and sorting through feelings long after her final page." -- The Rumpus
"In Blair Hurley’s beautifully written first novel a young woman charts a spiritual journey into the rigors of Zen Buddhism in a Boston storefront Zendo, under the guidance of a charismatic Master who soon becomes her lover…A suspenseful and warmly engaging coming-of-age story." -- Joyce Carol Oates, author of A Book of American Martyrs
"
The Devoted is a beautifully written story of the seductions of faith, its many desperations both light and dark. A most absorbing and psychologically astute novel that announces Blair Hurley as a brave new talent." -- Chang-rae Lee, author of The Surrendered
"Blair Hurley is a gorgeous writer. This novel brims with startling and organic metaphors that fuel, like Zen koans, the heart of a remarkable story. Unlike the Boston films of late,
The Devoted gets the accents right." -- Anita Shreve, author of The Stars Are Fire
"Blair Hurley’s
The Devoted is a thrilling, deep, fun, intense look at sex and faith, at East and West, at fraud and truth, at love and what it means to lose love. A remarkable debut, and more: a great read." -- Darin Strauss, author of More Than It Hurts You
"In luminous prose, Blair Hurley explores the lines between devotion and entrapment, between the search for self and the attempt to lose oneself entirely. Beneath each measured line is a fiery intelligence.
The Devoted is a beautiful debut." -- Kirstin Valdez Quade, author of Night at the Fiestas
