Why read The Parasites?

Book cover of The Parasites

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FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA

'When people play the game: Name three or four persons whom you would choose to have with you on a desert island - they never choose the Delaneys. They don't even choose us one by one as individuals. We have earned, not always fairly…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Parasites as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Ursula DeYoung

Author

This novel, published in 1949, is about three grown-up siblings who are still dominated by the memory of their famous parents, both accomplished performers, and their atypical early years, which they spent playing in theaters across Europe. Though the majority of the novel takes place after the parents have died, the ties of family remain paramount for the three protagonists. At times each one feels desperate to escape those ties, but their shared past exerts an irresistible pull on all three. Unusually, the novel is narrated in the first-person plural: the narrative often refers to “us,” but tells each sibling’s…

From Ursula's list on families from the mid-twentieth century.