9780062883223

0062883224

A captivating debut novel about a woman who falls into an overwhelming mutual obsession with the Upper East Side mother who hires her as a nanny. Ella is flat broke: wasting away on bodega coffee, barely making rent, seducing the occasional strange man who might buy her dinner. Unexpectedly, an Upper East Side couple named Lonnie and James rescue her from her empty bank account, offering her a job as a nanny and ushering her into their moneyed world. Ella's days are now spent tending to the baby in their elegant brownstone or on extravagant excursions with the family. Both women are just 26--but unlike Ella, Lonnie has a doting husband and son, unmistakable artistic talent, and old family money. Ella is mesmerized by Lonnie's girlish affection and disregard for the normal boundaries of friendship and marriage. Convinced there must be a secret behind Lonnie's seemingly effortless life, Ella begins sifting through her belongings, meticulously cataloguing lipstick tubes and baby teeth and scraps of writing. All the while, Ella's resentment grows, but so does an inexplicable and dizzying attraction. Soon Ella will be immersed so deeply in her cravings--for Lonnie's lifestyle, her attention, her lovers--that she may never come up for air. Riveting, propulsive, and startling, Devotion is a masterful debut novel where mismatched power collides with blinding desire, incinerating our perceptions of femininity, lust, and privilege.

Ella is barely making rent, seducing the occasional strange man who might buy her dinner. When an Upper East Side couple offer her a job as a nanny, it ushers her into their moneyed world. Ella's days are now spent tending to the baby in Lonnie and James' elegant brownstone or on extravagant excursions with the family. Unlike Ella, Lonnie has a doting husband and son, unmistakable artistic talent, and old family money. Ella is mesmerized by Lonnie's disregard for the normal boundaries of friendship and marriage, and begins sifting through Lonnie's belongings. Soon Ella is immersed so deeply in her cravings-- for Lonnie's lifestyle, her attention, her lovers-- that she may never come up for air. -- adapted from jacket

Nannies > Fiction.

Nannies > Fiction.

Young women > Fiction.

Social classes > Fiction.

Upper East Side (New York, N.Y.) > Fiction.

Novels.

Psychological fiction.

Psychological fiction.

Novels.