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Monday, January 1, 2018

The Writer's Life 1/1 - Damages

Born in Ireland in 1941, the late Josephine Hart saw three of her siblings die by the time she was 17. She moved to London in 1964, and worked in publishing and theater production before taking a crack at writing. Her first novel, Damage, was published in 1991, an impressive debut. It is told from the point of view a 50-year-old MD who has entered politics as a conservative minister. His life has been serene - lovely wife, two wonderful children. All that it lacked was passion. That changes when he meets his son's girlfriend, who is eight years older than the 23-year-old young man. She awakens the indefinable in him, which begins an inevitable downward spiral. It becomes a matter of how extensive the damage will be. I was hooked from page five when the narrator muses: "... Might not a happy childhood be the worst preparation for life? Like leading a lamb to slaughter." When he meets the femme fatale, whose brother committed suicide at 18, she says: "All damaged people are dangerous. Survival makes them so." And  adds: "Because they have no pity. They know that others can survive as they did." Despite his intelligence, the doctor is helpless - and guiltless. He feels alive for the first time in his life. He hopes the affair will last forever, even after the young couple announce their engagement. The reader will ask how a man can act so despicably. Although rare, such behavior does occur in real life. It smacks of premeditation, whereas the sins of most are a lapse in succumbing to an impulse. The protagonist later muses: "... Life is usually loved more than our most sacred love. In that knowledge lies the beginning of our cruelty and of our survival." As has been exhibited so many times in the media, there's no understanding what some humans beings do. The same may be said for the this man. Is that a cop out? Perhaps. Many will no doubt find fault with there being no explanation. I did not. The novel's prose and dialogue are first rate. Less than 200 pages, it leaps forward intelligently at times, omitting the unnecessary. There are a couple of elements that seem almost supernatural. 123 users at Amazon have rated Damage, forging to a consensus of four on a scale of five. It has been translated into 26 languages and sold more than a million copies. Hart wrote several other novels, and two works of non-fiction on her passion, poetry. She started poetry groups that attracted celebrity readers. She also hosted a TV show on books. She succumbed to cancer in 2011. Damage was adapted to the screen by French director Louis Malle in 1992. It stars Jeremy Irons and Juliet Binoche. I added it to my Netflix list.

Coaching is a tough business. Last year the Oakland Raiders went 12-4 and seemed a real threat to the Patriots until QB Derek Carr was injured. This season the Silver and Black seemed utterly lost and finished 6-10, and Coach Jack Del Rio has been fired... The Indianapolis Colts have fired Chuck Pagano, who had not had a losing season until this one. QB Andrew Luck, unable to recover from shoulder surgery, did not play a single down in 2017, and the team finished 4-12. Overall, Pagano was 56-46 in his tenure. It would not be surprising to see both men leading another team next season... The Detroit Lions have fired Jim Caldwell. He finished 36-28, including 9-7 this year, and made the playoffs in two of his four seasons at the helm. He is well-respected, but I thought the team underachieved. As head coach of the Colts, he lost the Super Bowl to the Saints in 2010. His overall NFL record is 62-50... John Fox has been canned by the Chicago Bears after three seasons and a record of 14-34. 62, I doubt he will be given another shot as a head coach. As Coach of the Carolina Panthers in 2003, his team suffered a narrow loss to the Patriots in the Super Bowl. His overall NFL record is 141-130. I sense management gave up on him too soon. I bet the next coach will look good in 2018... Bruce Arians has resigned from the Arizona Cardinals. 65, he has been battling health issues. Beloved by his players, he finished with an overall record of 49-30-1, 7-9 in 2017. He went 1-2 in the post season. Too bad his chance came so late in his career... Somehow, the Cleveland Browns' Hue Jackson is keeping his job, despite having won only one game in two seasons, none this year. The blame was foisted on the GM, who was fired... It's called Black Monday for good reason.

It was eight degrees when I left my house at 6:15 for my morning walk. I thought it'd be a good idea to let my car run for a few minutes. It wouldn't start - this after $379 worth of repairs last week. I tried again at 11:30 and had the same result. As I was returning from the Stop n Shop recycling center, I recalled a ploy my sister's god-daughter related long ago, circa, 1975. We were returning from a Mets' game in my first car,  a VW beetle. It was really hot. As luck would have it, traffic on the Belt Parkway was stopped by the opening of the Marine Park Bridge, as a ship was passing below. I made the mistake of turning the engine off. When traffic was ready to roll, the bug wouldn't start. Karen told me to push the accelerator to the floor and hold it there. Sure enough, the car started, as the old Hyundai did late this morning. We'll see what happens tomorrow when I hope to operate the floating book shop. Thanks again, Miss Connoli.
Vic's Sixth novel: http://tinyurl.com/zpuhucj 
Vic's Short Works: http://tinyurl.com/jy55pzc
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