The Devoted

The complicated and often treacherous relationship between religious master and student fuels Hurley’s quietly chilling debut. In her early 20s, aimless, and grieving the recent death of her father, Nicole begins attending a zendo in the Boston area and is drawn to the master who dispenses wisdom there. He selects her out of the group for a secret sexual relationship, which continues for years. The bulk of the novel takes place 10 years after their meeting, with Nicole attempting to break away from their dysfunctional relationship by moving to New York, where her brother lives with his family, and making a life for herself. It backtracks through the intervening years and through Nicole’s childhood and adolescence, when she began to doubt the Catholic faith she was raised on and became drawn to Buddhism as a replacement. Though Hurley occasionally enters the point of view of the otherwise-unnamed master, he remains a shadowy figure. Nicole’s spiritual journey is realistically convoluted, and Hurley subtly brings out the parallels between the potential for sexual abuse in Buddhism and Catholicism. This thoughtful novel carefully untangles the often knotty interconnection between romantic and religious love, revealing the dangers inherent in each without denying their value. (Aug.)