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Title:
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Usual Desire to Kill, The |
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Authors:
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Barnes, Camilla |
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Genre:
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Fiction |
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Pages:
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248 |
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Year:
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2025 |
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Publisher:
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Simon & Schuster |
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Language:
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English |
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Description:
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Ageing parents that drive you mad? Sisters Miranda and Charlotte know all about that particular challenge, but it is Miranda who makes the regular trek into the French countryside to tend to their crochety English parents who, along with their impressive menagerie, live in a ramshackle dwelling befitting their various eccentricities. Both poignant, hilarious and with banter to die for, this is a quirky story of a long marriage, sibling rivalry and the undeniable truth that children can never fully know their parents.
Comments from BDS Reviewers:"This is a slice-of-life narrative which deals with marital disappointment and resentment, sibling rivalry and long buried secrets - hilariously funny in many parts."
"Utterly relatable and told by a wickedly observant daughter - the fast-paced, quippy dialogue in the story is brilliant, and the tone immensely empathetic."
"I thoroughly enjoyed the humour of the book and the quirkiness of the characters, and could relate to much of it."
"It was refreshing to read something that, for the most part, was fairly light and undemanding of the reader."
"The characters are annoying, the mother dominating, but there are no 'bad' characters, just flawed and exasperating human beings."
"It's interesting to think about the fact that we come in halfway through our parents' stories, and will never completely know or understand them."
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Categories:
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Fiction, Literary, Contemporary, Family Saga, Grief/loss, Humour, Relationships, Short Read, Social commentary/perspectives, France, UK, Just Added, 2027 Titles |
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