The Devoted
by Catherine Cho
DESCRIPTION
In this emotionally transportive literary debut about family and fate, a young Korean woman whose father is a leader in an infamous crime organization becomes entrenched in the dangerous world she once sought to escape.
Raised in Hong Kong by their Korean grandmother in a quiet village, Eunha and her brother Solomon live a sheltered life. Their father is a Dragon Head, a leader within the infamous criminal organization of the Triads. While their beloved grandmother does her best to shield the children from the constant hum of violence and fear that surrounds their father and his world, Eunha only has Solomon and their one permitted companion, a boy named Kai, for company.
But as Eunha grows up and marries into a supposedly respectable Hong Kong family, the veneer of her careful life begins to crack. When her young son is kidnapped, she is cast into the city’s criminal underground and back into the orbit of Kai, now a Dragon Head himself.
Will Eunha finally give in to the life she has strived so hard to rise above or was her future always fated?
The Devoted is at once a sweeping family drama, a moving account of forbidden love, and a story about a woman’s determination to choose her own destiny.
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MY THOUGHTS
The principal protagonist in The Devoted is Eunha. Eunha and her brother, Solomon, were raised by their strict grandmother. Their father was a Dragon Head within the Triads, an extremely powerful position within the criminal organization. While Eunha and Solomon were growing up, their contact with their father was limited. Their grandmother was determined to keep them from becoming part of that world.
Their isolation extended beyond their father, however. They had very little contact with other people, growing up in a world that was both sheltered and restrictive. The family was Korean, and being raised in Hong Kong was not always easy for them. Eventually, Eunha and Solomon were introduced to a new playmate, Kai, and the three became very close.
As Eunha grows older, she marries Philip. The marriage places her in a privileged position, but despite the wealth and security it provides, her heart remains as empty and isolated as it was during her childhood.
Then, tragically, Eunha’s toddler son is kidnapped, forcing her to turn to the dark world from which she had been so carefully shielded. By this point, Solomon has grown up to become a Dragon Head himself, just like their father. Kai also returns to their lives, bringing with him a complicated history that becomes increasingly important as the story unfolds.
Told through a dual timeline, The Devoted gradually reveals more about Eunha’s past, her relationship with Kai, and the difficult choices she has made. Her past and present eventually collide, and loyalty plays an important role throughout the story. This is also a love story - one that feels difficult and, for much of the book, almost hopeless.
Unfortunately, I never really connected with any of the characters, or even with much of the story itself. What did interest me, however, was the underlying idea of trying to escape a lifestyle that is seemingly part of your blood while simultaneously trying to forge your own path. Eunha spends much of her life attempting to separate herself from her family’s world, only to discover how difficult it can be to truly escape the legacy into which you were born.
For me, that conflict between family, loyalty, love, and the desire to create a life of your own was the most compelling aspect of The Devoted.
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