A book by
Josephine Hart about a disturbing affair between a married man and a young woman who dates his son. Also made into a movie directed by
Louis Malle and starring
Jeremy Irons and
Juliette Binoche.
The novel is written in first person, quite eloquently, in the voice of Dr. Stephen Fleming, a respected member of the British Parliament who develops a sudden attack of masochism when he meets the stoic but sexy Anna Barton at a party. Fleming, suddenly forgetting he has two children, a wife and numerous other successes in life, begins a brutal, all-consuming affair with the ostensibly cold Barton. An obsession he has never known before, Fleming disregards all warnings and near-brushes with revelation- and the ending is most certainly not a happy one.
A powerful novel. One that isn't very lengthy but manages to pack enough beauty and insight to be more than just a mediocre read. The movie is skillfully done. Irons, famous for his knack with seedy characters (see the latest celluloid version of "Lolita" and other past hit "Reversal of Fortune") does an equally great performance here, and Binoche, as always, makes a lasting, and far from damaging, impression.