This was a fast read. Be forewarned: this book was actually published originally way back in 1991. I only recently came upon it after learning about a Netflix miniseries that was based on it, so before I watched it, I decided to read the book, especially since it was a rather short book (177 pages). It is told from the male main character's perspective and there is a rather taboo topic within the book: He falls for his son's fiancée and begins an affair with her. His turns of phrase within the book and observations regarding life in general is what compelled me to keep reading. This truly is a different book. He states at the end that this is a love story, but not your typical one. I find it be a rather erotic thriller, with some twists I didn't see coming. The tone is rather methodical; he just feels awakened for the first time in his entire life to a life and possibility he didn't know he wanted. A true obsession. It really makes one think how some people just walk through life and then someone somewhere creates a fire or a passion within them that they didn't know existed. Let's hope it isn't with your children's fiancées though. Off I go to watch the miniseries now with the handsome Richard Armitage as the lead. A highly recommended little read.

Solo allora mi resi conto che ero nudo.

5☆
I don't know what to say, this is a book that I'm going to have to read over and over again to fully feel like I've learnt everything there is to know about this book.

The stoic, to the fact nature of the narrator and main character, it felt so impersonal yet so deeply intimate. The twists at the end were hardly twists because the way the narrator describes them is the same way you'd say you were going shopping. It was a captivating read, the level of detachment was disconcerting but exactly what the novel needed to have the impact it did.

I was worried about the fact the topic is erotic obsession as there was a very good chance the author could have got it way wrong and focused too much on the erotic side. But, she (the author) didn't, it was very much focused on the obsession and how that impacted him (the narrator)

This was a heavy read, full of symbolism (which I love) and really shows what happens when obsession overrides sanity to the point where they don't see it as obsession but rather as passion

I highly recommend this book, and I'd also highly recommend reading it several times (as I will 100% be doing in the future)

Twenty years before E.L. James's Fifty Shades of Grey had readers all bewitched, bothered, and/or bewildered, a less salacious but equally passionate tale of sexual compulsion written by Josephine Hart, aka Baroness Saatchi (1942–2011) swept through the literary world like a fever, or at least a hot flash. The swift, taut drama of the successful middle-aged narrator's hopeless fascination with his son's fiancée Ann Barton, an enthrallingly damaged woman who seems equally in thrall (or is she?), is perhaps best consumed in a single sitting, the better to lose critical distance and submit to the novel's hypnotic pull toward a catastrophe with the terrible inevitability of classic noir, minus the tough stuff. Next to the often-contrived twists and revelations of today's psychological suspense, Hart's spare tale of all-consuming obsession is refreshingly straightforward. Louis Malle directed a 1992 film adaptation of the same name. A limited series for Netflix is currently underway.

I need a minute to decide what to rate Damage. Truthfully, I wanted it to end very desperately, however, I also wish it was longer so that we could delve deeper into the motivations of Anna and Tom? was that his name or did he even have a name? Perhaps I would like to read a book from Anna’s perspective all together. I loathed the protagonist and Anna.

I hate the “woah is me. I’m the worst so I deserve to suffer” mentality/excuse that many people go to to justify their actions. I’m not sure if they were punishing themselves or just deeply depressed or maybe just psychopathic.

I’m left feeling there was a deeper meaning that I didn’t fully gather while reading. What is Josephine Hart trying to say through this story?

This had me in a chokehold from start to finish. It’s not perfect - it’s weird and pretentious and some of the moments clearly intended to be shocking felt almost childish, but the whole thing vibrates with tension and you simply can’t look away from the spectacle of it.