Edna and Leo, a perpetually warring, tyrannical pair in their 80s,
begin
wintering In Mexico, where they abandon their usual prudence to
embrace
adventure and a bevy of sketchy new friends. Soon, Edna adopts a pair
of shyster builders whom she trusts over her own architect-daughter
Elizabeth, and a farcical house results. Blithely indifferent to the
calamities that result, the pair refuse all help from their
too-compliant only child.
Later, following her mother's sudden death, Elizabeth's wise,
principled
father attempts to fill his late wife's shoes with a string of loopy,
live-in housekeepers--with privileges, he hopes. Before it is over the
Mexican escapade will bring down the kind of disasters commonly found
in
pulp fiction. Why can't Elizabeth stop any of this from happening? No
matter the madness, she cannot confront her parents any more than she
ever could. In the end, the surprising way in which they come undone
reveals just what they spent their lives trying to hide, thereby
setting
her free.
Though unique in its loony details, Don't Say A Word! will
resonate with beleaguered adult-children everywhere who will recognize
the special misery of watching, helpless, as stubborn, diminished
parents careen precariously toward the end of life.
