The story of 'Damage' centres around a politician (we never know his name) who is married to a lovely woman and whose playboy son Martyn brings home a mysterious woman named Anna one day who no one can really work out or understand. This is unlike Martyn who usually has a different girl on his arm every week, but this time he is serious about her, and begins to drop hints to his family and sister that he is going to propose to her. The narrator's wife doesn't like her, but the narrator falls head over heels in love with her at first sight, and it's almost immediate that they both begin an affair which takes them as far as Paris. The affair is brief, passionate and everything they could both want, however until a dreadful tragedy hits a member of the family. The affair with Anna becomes the narrator’s obsession. For the first time in his life he is experiencing strong emotions and he is unable and unwilling to let go of either those emotions or the woman who has triggered them; is at the centre of them.

Damage is a 1991 novel by Josephine Hart about a British politician who, in the prime of life, causes his own downfall through an inappropriate relationship. It was adapted into a film of the same title by Louis Malle in 1992, as well as into an opera (called Damage, an Opera in Seven Meals) by Greek composer Kharálampos Goyós which premiered as part of the Athens Festival in 2008. [1] A second screen adaptation has been released in April 2023 as a four-part limited series for Netflix, under the title Obsession. [2] [3] Plot summary [ edit ] But I did not die in my fiftieth year. There are few who know me now who do not regard that as a tragedy.”This is thought-provoking, brilliantly written, character-driven fiction that made me think about actions and consequences, “The Damage” is a stellar debut by Caitlin Wahrer. The fact that this is a debut novel blows my mind. If only all books were this good, I’d be a very happy camper. I found the story a bit convoluted at times throwing off the pace for me, however it is a readable story. The story delves into the everyday life of the characters that did add a more realistic feel to the lives of the characters however it slowed down the story for me. The first chapter of this novel is one of the most perfect in English literature. It's really quite amazing, and there are passages throughout that are nearly as good. The novel is perhaps not perfect as a whole, and one sometimes becomes irritated at the "oh aren't we so frightfully correct and conventional" self observational conversations spouted by the characters as a sort of authorial shorthand. On the other hand, the way the novel simmers under its lid and slowly uncoils itself to render its death bite is quite masterly. And there is much sigh-inducing gorgeousness in Hart's prose. It's a sad tale, part Ford Madox Ford's The Good Soldier, part Nabokov's Lolita in its forbidden (age-gap, but not pedophilic) love, deception and existence of a peripheral character with a mysterious pull, and probably several other novels I'm missing. The most tragic figure in the story is probably Fleming's wife, Ingrid, decent and guileless, and thus eminently destroyable. I think that this is a terrific debut. A mystery/drama and a family facing the consequences of a sexual assault, in this case, a male victim of rape. A post-theatre dinner with Ed Victor, whom I did not know well at that time, resulted in his request to see the opening chapters of this novel, the writing of which my husband believed was "what I should be doing".

After the murder, the media focuses this harmful event and misjudged opinions of the people, cruel criticism around the family create more impact than they already deal with. Friends, I wish I could tell you more, but I do not wish to spoil the story for anyone .. Please do yourself a favor, if you can tolerate adultery, jump into this story blindly. This may be classified as a thriller but I can’t pinpoint a specific genre as it seems to be a combination of several. I would encourage those who enjoy legalese, police procedurals, and thoughtful family drama to consider this too. my life would have been lost in contemplation of the emerging skeleton beneath my skin. It was as though a man’s bones broke through the face of the werewolf. Shining with humanity he stalked through his midnight life towards the first day.’ This book was made into a good film in 1992, starring Jeremy Irons, and it's probably his presence in that which reminded me of Lolita, as he appeared in the excellent remake of that film as well.It took me some time to send them to Ed who responded immediately: "You've no right not to finish it." I have to say it was also wonderful to read a story about a sexual assault where the detective was as dedicated, caring and committed as you’d ever want, and not the least bit homophobic about the crime. If we had more real-life detectives like this, maybe sexual assaults on men would be far less underreported. The writing is simple but compelling, and the storyline, its structure and its development were nicely presented.