InsaneJournal

Current mood:	touched
Current music:	"A Thousand Curses on Love" - Baka Beyond

H/D Rec - ". . . And Your Damage Done"
It's unprecedented, I know, but I have two recs in one weekend.

I'm not sure I can do twistedm's . . . And Your Damage Done justice in a simple two or three paragraph review, but I'll try. It's an unflinching portrait of desire, adultery and betrayal - one of the most intimate and realistic and powerful portraits of this topic I've ever seen - in fandom or anywhere else for that matter. This is truly a story in which the writer has invested every bit of her heart and mind and delivered, with the utmost integrity, The Truth.

After DH, there are so many stories depicting Harry and Ginny's family life, but none that I have read thus far have made it seem as real and vital as it does in Damage. T.M. gives us a glimpse of both the joys and pains of marriage and parenting - the quiet tenderness of lives entwined together, the partnership that evolves from bringing new human beings into the world and watching them grow, the quiet sad inevitability of estrangement coupled with the contentment of knowing that there is at least one person who will always be there - no matter what. T.M. also shows us the fierce love of parents for their children and the deep sense of insecurity that comes with knowing both the influence a parent has over his children and, simultaneously, the frustrating boundaries of that influence. Few writers have given us such a nuanced and compelling perspective - a perspective that is refreshingly cliche-free.

Damage would be worth reading for the generous portrait T.M. paints of Harry and Ginny's marriage alone, but there is even more to it -- much more, in fact. T.M.'s description of Harry's slow surrender to his desire for Draco is so well written, so disciplined, that it becomes a whole story in and of itself. From the moment when Harry first deflects Draco's advances (the description of the quiet household details, broken into single one-paragraph sentences, while he awaits Ginny's return home is one of my favorite moments in the whole story) to the afternoon when he finally - and dramatically - succumbs, it is absolutely one-hundred-and-one percent clear how this need could cause Harry to give up the life T.M. has so painstakingly described. The strength of this story lies in T.M.'s ability to balance the scales perfectly - to make it absolutely clear what's at stake. And given that this is an H/D story, it would have been so easy for her to slip into Ginny-bashing. But she never does, and the story is the stronger for it.

I can't sign off on this review without mentioning the ending. T.M., all I can say is that it's perfect, and I think I hate you for it. A sentiment I'm sure you've felt for me in the past. Thank you for having the courage to leave it there. You made the right decision.

Teaser-link:This was wrong. He knew this. He would pay for it later somehow. He knew this as well, and felt sad for it. The knowledge that he was a bad person gave him pause, then he brushed it aside. No one could deny him this. No one could take this from him. God himself would understand that Harry no longer had the strength to resist this.

How could God not understand? God was right here in the room.

This was beauty. Perfection. Irresistible sin of the purest shape.

He was lost. He'd worry about being found some other day. He could seek forgiveness later, when he was done with the sin that called him underneath the waves.