Howard Norman’s latest novel has given us both a unique love story and a deep and searching examination of human emotions. In many ways DEVOTION is a romantic journey that mirrors many of the blind turns, dead-ends and washed-out bridges that on any excursion can interrupt you and perhaps even prevent you from reaching a looked-for ending.

 

The book is told in flashback style so that you first see the result of these twisting turns guided by love and devotion. Only later, as the story progresses, do you understand how the characters arrived at their destinations and, finally, where they might all be bound.

 

David Kozol and his new father-in-law William Field have a violent quarrel in a cafe. They are

 

When Rosemary arrives in New York City at the age of 18 coming from Tasmania she has to adjust not only to a new city but to a new life. Sent by her mom’s best friend after her mother passes away, this ingenue heroine of THE SECRET OF LOST THINGS is on a voyage of self-discovery and potentially, as well,  the discovery of a long-lost manuscript by Herman Melville.

 

She walks into the Arcade bookstore and immediately feels she has found a new home. Readers who are familiar with New York City’s The Strand bookstore may find many of the descriptions of The Arcade more than a little reminiscent. But The Arcade is staffed by a collection  of characters that are quite unique as well as involving.