My initial experience with Damage was through the Louis Malle film starring Juliette Binoche and Jeremy Irons. It is a haunting piece, beautifully shot and wonderfully acted. Good though the movie is, however, it is as nought compared to the book.
Hart's prose is sublime - magisterial, yet at the same time, economical. The pace and plot grip like a morbid fever. And the first chapter is up there with that of Ian McEwan's Enduring Love as a contender for best-ever opener.
In short, read Damage and it's goosebumps all the way down.