Book Review: DEVOTION by Hannah Kent

 

Title: DEVOTION

Author:  Hannah Kent

Publisher:  Pan Macmillan Australia

Read: November 2021

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

Book Description:

 

Prussia, 1836

Hanne Nussbaum is a child of nature - she would rather run wild in the forest than conform to the limitations of womanhood. In her village of Kay, Hanne is friendless and considered an oddity...until she meets Thea.

Ocean, 1838

The Nussbaums are Old Lutherans, bound by God's law and at odds with their King's order for reform. Forced to flee religious persecution the families of Kay board a crowded, disease-riddled ship bound for the new colony of South Australia. In the face of brutal hardship, the beauty of whale song enters Hanne's heart, along with the miracle of her love for Thea. Theirs is a bond that nothing can break.

The whale passed. The music faded.

South Australia, 1838

A new start in an old land. God, society and nature itself decree Hanne and Thea cannot be together. But within the impossible...is devotion.

 

My musings:

 

After reading Kent's previous books BURIAL RITES and THE GOOD PEOPLE, I knew that she has a special skill in bringing the past to life with vivid imagery of her words. The story of Hanne and Thea, two young Lutheran girls embarking on a journey to the colonies of South Australia to start a new life, sounded interesting. Little did I realise though that it was not a straightforward, ordinary piece of historical fiction. Though inspired by the real life characters and the origins of the settlement that is now Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills, Kent has a few surprises in store for her readers.

 

As Hanne and Thea's friendship blossoms into a forbidden romance, I was wondering about what the future would hold for these two young women, considering the ultra religious and conservative environment that entraps them. I could never have guessed the turn the story took at its half way mark, and I admit that I was a bit taken aback initially. However, Kent's lyrical prose lent the story an almost dreamlike quality that fitted in well with this "twist", for the lack of a better term without giving too much away. It also allowed for a broader perspective of the lives of the new community established in the colony, and a resolution that was unusual to say the least.

 

This turn of events probably won't be for everyone but I urge you to give it a chance, because the rest of the journey was worth it. I particularly enjoyed Kent's descriptions of nature and the slightly supernatural air that marked the later part of the book. Kent also doesn't shy away from exposing the darker side of European settlement and the treatment of the Peramangk people, the original custodians of the land. Overall, the story turned out to be less of a historical account, but an emotionally charged tale of love, longing and grief that rapidly got me under its spell. It was both beautiful and sad, with many topics to reflect on. DEVOTION is one of those books that will stick in my mind with its timeless quality and characters.

 

 

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan Australia for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.