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A review by pinkacorn
Damage by Josephine Hart
3.0
I was both drawn and pushed by this book. The writing is at times striking. Bothersome is the idea that "damaged" people are insidious or calculating or obsessive as is presented by both Anne and the narrator.
Language like "children are the great gamble - from the moment they are born, our helplessness increases. Instead of being ours to mould and shape after our best knowledge and endeavour, they are themselves" both pushes me away and pulls me in. I worry about imposing myself on my children's personalities as they grow and see how striking they are their own selves. And are damaged people thus because they have people ruling over them?
"It was as though they had learned some technique for dealing with terror. The technique was denial, discipline, and silence."
wow
Language like "children are the great gamble - from the moment they are born, our helplessness increases. Instead of being ours to mould and shape after our best knowledge and endeavour, they are themselves" both pushes me away and pulls me in. I worry about imposing myself on my children's personalities as they grow and see how striking they are their own selves. And are damaged people thus because they have people ruling over them?
"It was as though they had learned some technique for dealing with terror. The technique was denial, discipline, and silence."
wow