The Usual Desire to Kill: A NovelAn often hilarious, surprisingly moving portrait of a long married couple, seen through the eyes of their wickedly observant daughterfor fans of A Man Called Ove and The Royal Tenenbaums. Mirandas 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. Mirandas father is a retired professor of philosophy who never loses an argument.