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4.0étoiles sur 5
"For whom the caps fit.....", Nov. 28 2009
...is how Du Maurier dedicated this novel and one has to wonder how personal this story is for her, she herself being a child of famous entertainers. I understand her relationship with her father was a bit unusual to say the least.
"Parasites affect their hosts by feeding upon their living tissues or cells, and the intensity of the effect upon the hosts ranges from the slightest local injury to complete destruction." The Encyclopedia Britannica (quoted from the book).
My, my, another highly ambiguous ending from Dame Du Maurier and I'm still scratching my head wondering what to make of it. The three Delaney siblings are Maria the actress, Niall the song-writer and Celia the only child parented by Maria's father and Niall's mother (Niall and Maria thus being step-siblings). One day Maria's husband accuses the three of being parasites who have spent their lives feeding off of others and thus begins a series of flashback on the lives of the children and their famous parents as they try to ascertain which one of them is the parasite Charles refers to - or is it all of them?
Maria can be anyone she wants to be and is she truly the woman her husband thought he married? Niall loves to make up popular tunes in his head, but he relies (uses) others around him to put pen to ink. Niall adores Maria but at the same time he has what might have more than *brotherly* feelings for her. And Celia, she is dedicated to protecting and caring for her "pappy" who is IMHO the worst parasite of the lot of them. Oh that family visit to the country estate of Charles' parents - truly guests from Hell.
The flashbacks were a tad confusing, and you never do know who is actually narrating the story (is there just one narrator or different ones?), and I really didn't get *into the groove* until the last 100 pages or so. And that ending - she sure can leave you hanging in ambiguity wondering what really happened. While Du Maurier's writing is top notch as always, this was a very different novel with very unlikable characters and might be best for die-hard Du Maurier fans only. Four stars, but if it had been written by anyone else it would've only got three.
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1.0étoiles sur 5
I must agree, Jui 17 2001
I read Rebecca and adored it - the subtle darkness and drama, the nuances that one only picked up on the second and third readings, the intense yet always likeable characters, the delectable prose...I hardly even glanced at "Parasites" when I bought it (thankfully, I only spent a dollar at a used bookstore) and eagerly sat down to read it. Two hours later I tossed down the book, feeling depressed and cynical about humanity in general. This books follows the lives of three siblings, the children of equally self-absorbed actors, who are "parasites." Each one has the capacity for greatness, given their respective talents, but each wastes them on cheap, unnoticeable books, music, and stage plays. If you're a fan of flashbacks you might like this - their lives in the 20s to 40s are covered over a massive number of pages, after a look at them in the "present" day. But this book hadn't DuMaurier's other books' sparkling prose and intense dialogue, or any of the spinetingling atmosphere that sucks you in. It also wasn't helped by the fact that the main characters ARE parasites, living off whoever they are nearby. Their whininess and complaints augmented their selfish personas. I spent much of the book wanting to slap them. There don't really seem to be ANY likeable characters, and while I didn't expect the ending, I felt even more depressed when I read what one of the characters did. I advise you to read "Rebecca" or "Jamaica Inn" for a first book. Had this been my first Du Maurier book, there would have been no second.
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3.0étoiles sur 5
Not the most exciting, but still a good read, Déc 4 2000
I have to agree with the other reviewer that this book lacked suspense and dark mystery that I found in some of du Maurier's other books. But, I found myself completely involved and interested in the lives of the three siblings. If you enjoy reading period pieces(this one ranging from the 1920's until the late 40's)and reading indepth portrayals of individuals, you will like this book.
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