Kim Deister
The Damage was a tough book to read, focused on a sexual assault and the aftermath. Books about sexual assault aren’t a new thing, but what makes this particular book stand out was that it was about a male sexual assault, a topic that’s vastly underrepresented in fiction. Also interesting was that the story explored sexual assault’s impact not just on the victim but also on his entire family. In many ways, it was more their story than his.
The crime against Nick was brutal, and he was an endearing character, his pain often difficult to read. That pain extended to his family, too. His brother Tony struggled, wanting to find a way to fix everything for his younger brother, frustrated when he couldn’t. Julia, Nick’s sister-in-law, fought on two fronts. One, to keep her husband’s need for revenge in check. And two, to help Nick find his way through the darkest time of his life.
The story is told through two timelines, that of the present and that of the past, when the crime took place. It is also told from four perspectives, those of Julia, Tony, Nick, and the detective who’d investigated the crime. It sounds complicated to follow, but it isn’t. The voices are very distinct, making it easy to keep track of who is who, and when. However, it felt as if, although there were four perspectives, only Julia’s and Nick’s really allowed the reader to get to know them, the others more superficial.
Although there is a mystery element to the book, it felt as if that was less important to the story than the exploration of the issues of sexual assault and mental health, as well as the quandries of morality.
What I didn’t like…
Sexual assault can be difficult topic in fiction, in how it’s used to move the story forward. Sometimes it’s a valid part of the storyline; other time it feels like it’s being used as an emotionally manipulative device. For me, The Damage bordered the latter. There was a thread of the “is the victim telling the truth” that felt manipulative for the reader and trusting Nick. Casting doubt on the credibility of the victim is an overused trope, and it felt even more manipulative when his full story was revealed, and it just wasn’t that big a deal. Even that it was a sexual assault against a man felt a little manipulative to me. There was little discussion of that outside of how it affected other people, the feelings that the assault of a male would engender in others. Most particularly, a straight man. In this case, his brother, which neatly leads to a revenge plotline that felt contrived.
