The Dinner

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An internationally bestselling phenomenon the darkly suspenseful, highly controversial tale of two families struggling to make the hardest decision of their lives all over the course of one meal It s a summer s evening in Amsterdam, and two couples meet at a fashionable restaurant for dinner Between mouthfuls of food and over the polite scrapings of cutlery, the conversation remains a gentle hum of polite discourse the banality of work, the triviality of the holidays But behind the empty words, terrible things need to be said, and with every forced smile and every new course, the knives are being sharpened Each couple has a fifteen year old son The two boys are united by their accountability for a single horrific act an act that has triggered a police investigation and shattered the comfortable, insulated worlds of their families As the dinner reaches its culinary climax, the conversation finally touches on their children As civility and friendship disintegrate, each couple show just how far they are prepared to go to protect those they love Tautly written, incredibly gripping, and told by an unforgettable narrator, The Dinner promises to be the topic of countless dinner party debates Skewering everything from parenting values to pretentious menus to political convictions, this novel reveals the dark side of genteel society and asks what each of us would do in the face of unimaginable tragedy. Read The Dinner – kino-fada.fr Hated this book It felt contrived and stilted I didn t like any of the characters I couldn t identify with any of them None of the dialogue was believable The situation was farcical why would you go to a super expensive, elite restaurant to talk about such a private matter The whole book was about protecting the kids from their own actions their was no sense of personal responsibility, no remorse, no soul searching The narrator was a violent thug who just whined incessantly the whole Hated this book It felt contrived and stilted I didn t like any of the characters I couldn t identify with any of them None of the dialogue was believable The situation was farcical why would you go to a super expensive, elite restaurant to talk about such a private matter The whole book was about protecting the kids from their own actions their was no sense of personal responsibility, no remorse, no soul searching The narrator was a violent thug who just whined...so this is probably a safe bet for people who liked Gone Girl in other words, not you, richard but it is not nearly as twisty and satisfying as g.g., methinks it has the moral bankruptcy of Gone Girl, the shallow people, banal small talk and heavily done descriptive elements of American Psycho, and the we are here to talk about our delinquent kids but it isn t going to go well scenario of The God of Carnage and why yes, i have only seen the film adaptation, thank you for asking.the whole t so this is probably a safe bet for people who liked Gone Girl in other words, not you, richard but it is not nearly as twisty and satisfying as g.g., methinks it has the moral bankruptcy of Gone Girl, the shallow people, banal small talk and heavily done descriptive elements of American Psycho, and the we are here to talk about our delinquent kids but it isn t going to go well scenario of The God of Carnage and why yes, i have only seen the film adaptation, thank you for asking.the whole thing takes place over a single dinner, with each section of the book corresponding to a course in the meal the participants are two couples a pair of resentful brothers and their wives, and the occasion is not a festive one, but a sit down to discuss the horrific crime...I really detested every character in this book with the exception of Serge, him I just disliked I hated the ending with every fiber of my being I found myself wanting to put it down numerous times, and I felt physically ill when I realized where the ending was going.and yet I didn t hate the book itself I actually went back and forth about whether to give it three stars or four stars for q...That s the oppressive thing about happiness, the way everything is out on the table like an open bookWhen you look at the rating details for every widely read book on Goodreads, you will almost always see most ratings being 5 or 4 stars Even when it comes to divisive books like Fifty Shades of Grey, 60% of the ratings are for 4 or 5 stars Now look at the ratings for The Dinner There are an overwhelming number of 3 star ratingsthan any other And I get why This is the kind ofThat s the oppressive th...It occurred to me by the end that this is a fascist novel Not in the sense that the author is fascist or anything of the sort, but rather like pointing to a certain book and recognizing that it s a feminist novel, or a queer novel, or a Southern novel, or what have you In The Dinner we have a situation in which the narrator, through a long illuminating story, reveals to the reader the picture of what a secret contempt of all things weak or inferior formulated into an ideology and informi It occurred to me by the end that this is a fascist novel Not in the sense that the au...The Wall Street Journal has tagged The Dinner as the European Gone Girl I beg to differ and I think that this book shouldappropriately be tagged the European Defending Jacob but hey who am I to question The Wall Street Journal The Dinner tells the story of two families, the parents of which meet each other over dinner one evening in an exclusive restaurant in Amsterdam At the heart of the story is a horrific crime which both sons within each family hold equal responsibility Koch h The Wall Street Journal has tagged The Dinner as the European Gone Girl I beg to differ and I think that this book shouldappropriately be tagged the European Defending Jacob but hey who am I to question The Wall Street Journal The Dinner tells the story of two families, the parents of which meet each other over dinner one evening in an exclusive restaurant in Amsterdam At the heart of the story is a horrific crime which both sons within each family hold equal responsibility Koch has managed to achieve an attention grabbing, gripping and intriguing read in this book It is very well written and translated I was truly hooked from page one right up until the end The setting, i.e the restaurant, wor...This may have been one of the worst books I have ever read I will confess that generally I want to have at least one character that I like But it s not always necessary If the plot or situation enthralls me in such a way that I am compelled to keep reading, then I m happy to This book however, I kept reading because every review that I read and every recommendation I got from friends said how fabulous this book was I read to the end hoping it would get better I hated it I hated the fact t This may have been one of the worst books I have ever read I will confess that generally I want to have at least one character that I like But it s not always necessary If the plot or situation enthralls me in such a way that I am compelled to keep reading, then I m happy to This book ...Update 3 July 2015 If you ve read the book and thought nothing like that could ever really happen, read the news It chilled me to the bone If you haven t read it, it s not so much a spoiler because the book is different Kind of.I have tried to be oblique but anything I say will ruin the book if you are going to read it, so view spoiler Say you have...Edit added spoiler alert per GR member request view spoiler Pretentious rot and Dutch version of Gone Girl only with sociopaths and food Unpalatable I know That was too easy And smug.Sorry hide spoilerI m a huge fan of books that explore how far we ll go for those we love, particularly our children When Hogarth Publishers agreed to send me the e galley of The Dinner I was ecstatic It s due to be published in the states in February 2013 This is a book that begs eating metaphors so I ll try to spare you but it won t be easy The Dinner is laid out in courses, from aperitif to digestif and is excellently plotted You learn early on that this dinner is not the typical happy family outing Brot I m a huge fan of books that explore how far we ll go for those we love, particularly our children When Hogarth Publishers agreed to send me the e galley of The Dinner I was ecstatic It s due to be published in the states in February 2013 This is a book that begs eating metaphors so I ll try to spare you but it won t be easy The Dinner is laid out in courses, from aperitif to digestif and is excellently plotted You learn early on that this dinner is not the typical happy family outing Brothers Serge and Paul and their wives have met to discuss their children and some trouble the boys, cousins Rick and Michel have gotten themselves into It s not immediately apparent whether this trouble is the usual stuff the poor judgment of teens produces or if it s somethingserious The tension at the table is evident from the get go The rivalry between Paul and Serge is palatable Serge picked the restaurant, over priced and showy where only someone with his celebrity status coul...

The Dinner
  • English
  • 08 February 2018
  • Kindle Edition
  • 306 pages
  • Herman Koch
  • The Dinner