The first sentences of Howard Norman's fifth novel, "Devotion," are enough to keep the most passive reader engaged past the first page. After this first chapter, it is hard to put the book down. The pace of "Devotion" is quick and the novel is compact. Without preamble, Norman launches the reader into a fray of emotion that fuels the novel and is inherent to the human interactions therein. Immediately, the reader discovers that David, the protagonist, recently managed to nearly kill his father-in-law and estrange his wife days after their honeymoon.
Throughout a narrative that folds back on itself continuously, Norman reflects upon the brief but intricate love affair between Maggie and David as Maggie's father, William, recovers under David's care. This arrangement seems odd, as David is the cause of William's injuries, but the peculiarity of the relationship's dynamics make them no less plausible. There is an impetuous quality to the actions of Norman's characters, but they are ordinary people and their rashness is not theatrical for the benefit of a sensational novel. Norman gives readers a blunt introduction to the novel's action in its first moments and each of the characters' tempestuous sides remain a force essential to the character development. The energy between the lovers is charged with competition. Though it manages a certain intensity, it is never fierce.
The scene that illustrates David and Maggie's first meeting is simply but excellently crafted, both in its setting and the reader's immediate attraction to their connection. What springs up between them is described as love at first sight, but Norman refuses to let his story be manipulated by a cliché. Rather, the clichés are put to use by the author and the reader follows the story of what takes place after the quintessential boy meets girl scenario. Norman dodges the predictable and designs an attraction that leads, rather wonderfully, to an unshakeable connection and a hotel bed.
Norman crafts Maggie with particular sensitivity. She presents herself to David with brazen confidence, but this presentation is not effortless. What the reader realizes, with the omniscient narrator as a guide, is that while Maggie's devil-may-care intensity is not forced, neither is it entirely natural to her. The blend speaks to a character depth that one only glimpses within these pages. The author gives each of his characters discernable clout, even if their appearance is brief, imbuing their lives with solidity and making them tangible.
Norman enriches the lives of his characters with their explorations and relations to photography, music, and literature. He is interested in artistry, employing it well with the use of swans as a persistent element. He adds mystery through their peripheral, if not central, participation in every major event. They both reflect and feel the brunt of the torrent of human emotion that is essential to devotion.