Sharp and propulsive, The Damages is an engrossing novel set in motion by the disappearance of a student during an ice storm, and explores themes of memory, trauma, friendship, and identity.
What I remember best about that week in January is trying to keep track of all the lies I told.
1997: For Ros, starting university at Regis is an opportunity for reinvention—a chance to be seen as interesting, to be accepted by the in-crowd, and maybe even get a boyfriend. But when she meets her roommate, Megan, with her pleated jeans and horse-print bedding, she sees her as a social liability. Outside of their dorm room, Ros distances herself from Megan and quickly befriends the cool kids, seeking status at all costs. Just after winter break, an intense ice storm hits campus, triggering a reckless, days-long dorm party, during which Megan goes missing. Ros is blamed for the incident and abruptly dropped by her social circle, casting a shadow over the next two decades of her life.
2020: Ros’s former partner, Lukas, the father of her eleven-year-old son, is accused of a sexual assault. The accusation brings new details of an old story to light, forcing Ros to revisit a dark moment from her past. Ros must take a hard look not only at the father of her child, but also at her own mistakes, her own trauma, and at the supposed liberal period she grew up in.
The Damages is a page-turning, thought-provoking novel about the lies we tell other people and the lies we tell ourselves.
Sharp and propulsive, The Damages is an engrossing novel set in motion by the disappearance of a student during an ice storm, and explores themes of memory, trauma, friendship, and identity.
What I remember best about that week in January is trying to keep track of all the lies I told.
1997: For Ros, starting university at Regis is an opportunity for reinvention—a chance to be seen as interesting, to be accepted by the in-crowd, and maybe even get a boyfriend. But when she meets her roommate, Megan, with her pleated jeans and horse-print bedding, she sees her as a social liability. Outside of their dorm room, Ros distances herself from Megan and quickly befriends the cool kids, seeking status at all costs. Just after winter break, an intense ice storm hits campus, triggering a reckless, days-long dorm party, during which Megan goes missing. Ros is blamed for the incident and abruptly dropped by her social circle, casting a shadow over the next two decades of her life.
2020: Ros’s former partner, Lukas, the father of her eleven-year-old son, is accused of a sexual assault. The accusation brings new details of an old story to light, forcing Ros to revisit a dark moment from her past. Ros must take a hard look not only at the father of her child, but also at her own mistakes, her own trauma, and at the supposed liberal period she grew up in.
The Damages is a page-turning, thought-provoking novel about the lies we tell other people and the lies we tell ourselves.
GENEVIEVE SCOTT is a Canadian writer. Her first novel, Catch My Drift, was published in 2018 with Goose Lane Editions. Genevieve’s short fiction has been published in literary journals in Canada and the UK, including The New Quarterly, the White Wall Review, and the Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology. Her short films have screened at festivals worldwide, and she was Story Editor for the 2020 Canadian feature film “Jump, Darling,” starring past Oscar-winner Cloris Leachman. Genevieve holds an MFA from the University of British Columbia and an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She teaches writing at the Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna Beach. As a volunteer, she mentors at-risk teen writers through the LA-based nonprofit, WriteGirl. Genevieve grew up in Toronto and currently lives in Irvine, California with her partner and son.
Praise for The Damages:
A CBC'S BEST CANADIAN FICTION OF 2023 PICK
“A thought-provoking examination of truth, trauma, and memory,
briskly and attentively presenting readers with a vivid portrait of
one woman’s complicated experiences. A compelling character
study that tackles intriguing moral questions.” —Kirkus Reviews
“If you’re looking for a book that will generate a big discussion
with your book club, then look no further than The Damages by
Genevieve Scott. Scott did a fantastic job at capturing the
90’s and the ice storm…I…felt transported back to those days. I
also loved the way she showcases the narcissism of youth and that
need to find your place…. This is a propelling and thought
provoking book that you just can’t put down.” —The Suburban
“A narrator you won’t be able to get out of your head this summer….
A first and ongoing pleasure of The Damages is the narrating voice
of Ros Fisher. In it, there’s candour, a biting sharpness and a
bristling impatience with decorum. The opening line—'What I
remember best about that week in January is trying to keep track of
all the lies I told'—establishes both Ros’s surgical tone and her
seeming assuredness in the present day...Ros...as the narrator of
a novel she’s a keeper. A testament to Genevieve Scott’s
sure hand as a writer, Ros sells the story…. Ros’s voice
never falters and the sophomore novel of Scott (Catch My Drift), a
Southern Californian who grew up in Toronto, entices, whether she
confides moral failings or describes baking a dessert.”
—Toronto Star
“Riveting and engaging.” —The Ontarion
“In the 1990s, women were going to university and joining the
workforce in record numbers. Why, then, do many of us have
conflicted feelings when looking back? This is one of the first
novels I've read that does a brilliant job of unpacking the
duplicity and dishonesty of the era. An intelligent and intense
read about how power structures are passed on—The Damages held me,
riveted, in a tight, icy grip.”
—Claire Cameron, author of The Bear and The Last Neanderthal
“The Damages is a probing, courageous work—a dance along the
tightropes of memory, justice and love. It explodes the myth of the
innocent bystander and ultimately celebrates the lifelong moral
challenge of learning who you really are.”
—Sarah Henstra, author of The Red Word, winner of the Governor
General's Literary Award for Fiction
“The Damages is an eerily sharp depiction of being self-conscious,
self-obsessed, and eighteen in the late nineties, and just how
painful it can be to face the past and question why one makes the
choices they do when they're young. Packed with insecurity,
embarrassment, jealousy, and shame, each page made me anxious in
the best possible way. Heart pounding, I couldn't stop
reading!” —Cedar Bowers, Scotiabank Giller Prize-longlisted
author of Astra
“There is a skillful irony in a character so courageously honest
about her lies. Genevieve Scott offers a view inside of a
complicated woman from young adulthood to middle age, in refreshing
and deceptively clean prose. The Damages takes a critical look at
truth and perspective in a (post-) #MeToo era, calling into
question the ways our personal truths are shaped by our
pasts.” —Fawn Parker, Scotiabank Giller Prize-longlisted
author of What We Both Know
“The Damages led me into a maze with a thread—and then just never
let me go. This story builds with thrilling intensity through moral
knots and human dilemmas, led by a brilliantly complex protagonist
as she navigates her way through betrayal, guilt and
culpability.”
—Charlotte Gill, author of Almost Brown
“The Damages is the most honest novel I’ve read in a long time. A
propulsive story about the complexities of trust, the cruelties in
relationships, and the space between meaning well and doing good.
Genevieve Scott is a fresh, brilliant voice in fiction.”
—Leah Mol, author of Sharp Edges
“Genevieve Scott is a sophisticated writer, and The Damages is a
sharp, multi-layered story about truth, lies, history and memory. I
stayed up late to finish it! I was not disappointed: this is a
complex and satisfying novel.”
—Sarah Selecky, author of Radiant Shimmering Light
“As with the best books inspired by #MeToo, [Scott] doesn’t come to
neat conclusions, but instead engages with the mess of it all,
teasing out the multitudinous threads, asking questions instead of
claiming to have all the answers. A terrific read.” Kerry Clare,
author of Asking for a Friend
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