Oblivion

Book Description Laura's husband is immobilized by her death. Then he meets a playwright whose subject is death, and who believes that grief can be overcome through an act of will. From Publishers Weekly Hart's characters always suffer in the grip of some obsession. After Damage and Sin comes Oblivion?and that's just what most readers will wish for as they peruse the pages of this pretentious novel. Each of the two earlier books locked readers inside the head of a maniacally self-absorbed narrator; here, the focus is diffused among several characters, both living and dead, but all speak in similarly high-pitched, emotionally clotted voices. A year after his beloved wife Laura's death, famous London journalist and TV talk-show host Andrew Bolton still carries on a sorrow-steeped dialogue with her in his head. Laura's mother, similarly obsessed, communicates with her via entries in a journal. Complications ensue when Andrew is attracted to sweet Sarah, who patiently endures his suffering in the belief that h