The Parasites Book

The problem with the book is that these three siblings aren't parasites, they're trash. Well, that's not exact. Two of them are garbage people, the third is a self-denying loser. Parasites only take and these three actually do a lot of giving. Two are symbiotes: a brother who is a writer of catchy tunes and a sister who is a famous stage actress, creepily dependent on each other, both literally giving the world pleasure with their talents. A third sacrifices her entire life to serve others, especially her father. I suppose du Maurier was trying to say that superficial rich artists full of angsty white fragility who don't have healthy relationships with other people are... parasites? Um, no. So many other words can be used. To be kind, I will just say that these three are Sad with a capital S, but certainly not parasitical. Anyway, for such an exact and exacting author, the misuse of that word is strange and disappointing.

Fortunately the book itself is a mainly absorbing experience. du Maurier is a superb writer: her characters dense with inchoate ambitions and inarticulated emotions, her prose all the shades of gray but somehow still entirely vivid, scenes carefully set and dripping with atmosphere and detail, small tragedies and big moments all delivered with subtlety and finesse, and she serves up the whole bitter feast with such marvelously dry detachment. In general, du Maurier does leave me cold - possibly because she has ice running through her veins - but her skills are entirely admirable.

For much of the novel, the narrative switches back and forth in time, portraying the present when the siblings are shattered and ruminative after being called parasites by the husband of one (c'mon, get a grip everyone) and also portraying the past, mainly their lives as the children of two fey artists with rampant egos, growing up all around the world in various luxurious hotels and rentals. These narratives are in alternating chapters. Honestly, I found myself rushing through the chapters set in the present because they were so full of navel-gazing, while the chapters set in the past are dazzlingly vital. What lives these kids had!

Although du Maurier is far from generous with her characters, she paints a picture of a lifestyle that is both completely alien to me and completely real. Their hopes and dreams, the whirlwind of locations, the eccentric characters coming in and out of their world, their relationships with each other and their parents - I wish the whole book was set in this enchanting past. Unfortunately, the more we stayed in the present, the more moralistic the book became, and so it also became rather stultifying. I'm not interested in the grown-up lives of an unloving mother, her brother the self-absorbed twit, and her sister the tedious doormat. That said, the most lively chapter occurs late, when these so-called parasites and their plus ones are invited to a weekend at a country manor, and turn the whole thing into a humiliating debacle for everyone. Old Money should never invite self-centered artistes over for the weekend, hopefully lesson learned. Stay in your lane, Old Money; those types will only mortify everyone's delicate sensibilities, including the staff.

synopsis: three rich kids live their lives and are sad about it.