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A Novel
by Camilla Barnes
Book Reviewed by:An often hilarious, surprisingly moving portrait of a long-married couple, seen through the eyes of their wickedly observant daughter—for fans of A Man Called Ove and The Royal Tenenbaums.
Miranda's parents live in a dilapidated house in rural France that they share with two llamas, eight ducks, five chickens, two cats, and a freezer full of food dating back to 1983.
Miranda's father is a retired professor of philosophy who never loses an argument. Her mother likes to bring conversation back to the War, although she was born after it ended. Married for fifty years, they are uncommonly set in their ways. Miranda plays the role of translator when she visits, communicating the desires or complaints of one parent to the other and then venting her frustration to her sister and her daughter. At the end of a visit, she reports "the usual desire to kill."
A wry, propulsive, exquisitely observed story of a singularly eccentric family and the sibling rivalry, generational divides, and long-buried secrets that shape them. This is an extraordinary debut novel from a seasoned playwright with a flare for dialogue and, in the end, immense empathy.
Their conversations, full of English wit, are tinged with bitterness—not of fiery conflict but the exhausted, resigned exchanges of people who have stayed together simply because they don't know another way. They are captured through Miranda's observations and the theatre-like scenes in which Barnes showcases her background as a playwright; like Miranda, she also moved from England to France to work in theatre. Unlike her protagonist, Barnes has never been onstage, only behind the curtain: a position that has likely honed her powers of poignant observation. The English humor and lightness of tone make for a deceptively fast read; even sections that are not explicitly structured as scenes read like eavesdropped conversation. But beneath the humor lies a deeper, more melancholic feeling, as if the reader were a child hiding on the stairs, listening to their parents argue below.
If you liked The Usual Desire to Kill, try these:
by Anne Tyler
Published 2025
A new Anne Tyler novel destined to be an instant classic: a socially awkward mother of the bride navigates the days before and after her daughter's wedding.
by Paul Murray
Published 2024
From the author of Skippy Dies comes Paul Murray's The Bee Sting, an irresistibly funny, wise, and thought-provoking tour de force about family, fortune, and the struggle to be a good person when the world is falling apart.
Monica Ali, author of Love Marriage and Brick Lane
Hilarious and heartbreaking, packed with acute and painfully funny observations about relationships and family dynamics. Barnes's dialogue is pitch-perfect, and her characters dance off the page and straight into your heart. Mum and Dad are magnificent creations, eccentric and endearing, both instantly recognizable and utterly singular.
