The Usual Desire to Kill

By Camilla Barnes

About The Book

‘Witty, moving’ Ann Napolitano

‘Hilarious and heartbreaking’ Monica Ali

‘Made me hoot with laughter’ TLS

‘Reminds me of Nancy Mitford’ Telegraph

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 all 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. 

This wry, moving, exquisitely observed novel introduces a singularly eccentric family and the long-buried secrets that have shaped them. 

‘The usual desire to kill your exasperating old parents – that’s the implied full title of Camilla Barnes’s wickedly delightful debut novel’ New York Times

‘Barnes has a wise and radiant sensibility… the balance between gaiety and hidden sorrow is deliciously judged’ TLS

‘Highly engaging, very funny… Will strike a chord with anyone who has elderly parents or difficult relations’ Telegraph

About The Author

Photograph by Véronique Taupin
Camilla Barnes

Camilla Barnes was born and brought up in England but moved to France in her twenties. She lives in Paris and works in theatre, doing every job possible there except act. She writes for the stage in both English and French. The Usual Desire to Kill is her first novel.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Scribner UK (April 9, 2026)
  • Length: 256 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781398535237

Browse Related Books

Raves and Reviews

‘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 recognisable and utterly singular’  

– Monica Ali, author of LOVE MARRIAGE

‘Camilla Barnes deftly deciphers the secret language of one family, often with deeply funny and knowing results. I loved spending time in the very specific, complicated and memorable world of this novel’

– Meg Wolitzer, author of THE WIFE

‘I love nothing more than reading about eccentric families, and the family in The Usual Desire to Kill is just that. Miranda and her sister work to uncover the true story of their parents' marriage, only to have their brilliant, quirky mother and father deflect them at every turn. Barnes has written a witty, moving novel about characters who, even when they seem incapable of speaking honestly, are worth listening to nonetheless’ 

– Ann Napolitano, author of HELLO BEAUTIFUL

‘An account of two ageing, secretive, disputatious and thoroughly maddening parents – poignant, funny and brilliantly told through gritted teeth’

– Posy Simmonds, author of CASSANDRA DARKE

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images

The Usual Desire to Kill

By Camilla Barnes
BACK TO TOP