SYNOPSIS
“When a novel begins by paying homage to a great literary classic like The Great Gatsby, it quickly becomes a game of comparisons, and in The Art of Devotion author Samantha Bruce-Benjamin delivers a worthy and captivating story that lives up to its predecessor….A riveting tale of deception.” – The Examiner
“Captivating.” – Hamptons Magazine
“Ingenious plot twists.” – Booklist
“A haunting debut novel . . . Filled with secrets, love, betrayal, obsession, and deceit, The Art of Devotion is a beautifully rendered window into one family’s dark and complex history on an island in the Mediterranean Sea from the turn of the century until the late 1930s.” – Hamptons.com
“Bruce-Benjamin reveals her plot dramatically, tantalizing the reader with shocking revelations bit-by-bit throughout the novel until all is exposed. The Art of Devotion is much more than a quick, entertaining read. This novel delves bravely and skillfully into the themes of love, perception, family, and what people will do to keep the one they love the most.” – The Iowa Cityview
In the tradition of bestselling authors Ian McEwan and Anne Enright, Samantha Bruce-Benjamin’s brilliant and timeless debut unveils the dark side of human nature as four women share the poignant tale of love, obsession, and ultimate betrayal that binds them forever.
Have we all not wished to keep forever the one person we love the most?
The secluded beaches of a sun-drenched Mediterranean island are the perfect playground for young Sebastian and Adora. Emotionally adrift from their mother, Adora shelters her sensitive older brother from the cruelties of the world. Sophie does not question her children’s intense need for one another until it’s too late. Her beloved son’s affections belong to Adora, and when he drowns in the sea, she has no one else to blame.
Still heartbroken years later, Adora fills her emptiness with Genevieve, the precocious young daughter of her husband’s business associate and his jealous wife, Miranda. Thrilled to be invited into the beautiful and enigmatic Adora’s world, the child idolizes her during their summers together. Yet, as the years progress, Genevieve begins to suspect their charmed existence is nothing more than a carefully crafted illusion. Soon, she too is ensnared in a web of lies.
Stunningly told in the tragic voices of four women whose lives are fatefully entangled, The Art of Devotion is evocative and haunting, a story of deceit, jealousy, and the heartbreaking reality of love’s true power.