Alfred and Emily
Book description
I think my father's rage at the trenches took me over, when I was very young, and has never left me. Do children feel their parents' emotions? Yes, we do, and it is a legacy I could have done without. What is the use of it? It is as if…
Why read it?
1 author picked Alfred and Emily as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I interviewed Doris Lessing about her memoir Alfred & Emily at her home in London in 2008. She was 88 years old, but was still trying to break free of the “monstrous legacy” of World War II, which had left her father, Alfred, broken and her mother, Emily, “demented.”
Growing up in colonial Rhodesia, she was more comfortable in the bush with wild snakes than she was at home with her troubled parents. Yet she acknowledges what they could have been had history not been so cruel. I’ve tried to apply that same grace to my parents, who met during…
From William's list on surviving dysfunctional families.
Want books like Alfred and Emily?
Our community of 11,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Alfred and Emily.
Browse books like Alfred and Emily
5 book lists we think you will like!
Interested in World War 1, amputation, and presidential biography?
11,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about World War 1, amputation, and presidential biography.