I started reading The Dinner by Herman Koch this book before I learned that it was the April selection for the Healthy Living Blogs book club, but I am so glad that I will have an opportunity to chat about it. There is so much that I want to say about this book, but most of it would would require a spoiler alert, so I won’t say it here.
From the synopsis on Amazon:
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.
Amazon also quotes The Wall Street Journal as saying that The Dinner is “A European Gone Girl.” I see the similarity in the page-turning plot twists and depraved characters, but the story and the psychological tensions are completely different.
The book is narrated by Paul, the younger of two brothers who are meeting for dinner with their wives. The book sucked me in with Paul’s snarky (mostly internal) comments about the restaurant’s over-the-top poshness–the snotty staff, the pretentious descriptions of the menu items, the overbearing waiter. (I swear I’ve eaten there before!) But soon the plot darkens as we learn–in dribs and drabs through Paul’s flash backs–the big decision that is on the table.
I can’t say much more without spoiling some delicious surprises, but I did enjoy reading this book!
If you are interested in other reviews of The Dinner, check out the Healthy Living Blogsbook review page. If you want to chat about The Dinner, join the Healthy Living Blogs twitter chat on Monday, May 6th, at 7:00 PM EST (#hlbbookclub). If you want to participate in the next Healthy Living Blogs book club, start reading The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer.
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
This was one of the books I suggested for my book club to read a few months ago. I will suggest it again! Glad it's good.
It would be a great book club selection — so much to discuss!
Seems like an interesting read!
Three's probably some sinister twist at the end. But I hope they at least get their dessert first!