And it explored the underlying issues and fallout from the 'event' that the book gets its name from. The characters in that book were so well written and, while not always likeable (in fact some were really icky), they were believable. To compare it to The Slap (by Australian author Christos Tsiolkas) is such a joke.

I can't begin to describe how irritated and ripped off I felt by this book. The narrator was a violent thug who just whined incessantly the whole way through the book.

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 situation was farcical (why would you go to a super-expensive, elite restaurant to talk about such a private matter?). Hated this book! It felt contrived and stilted. 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. Tautly written, incredibly gripping, and told by an unforgettable narrator, The Dinner promises to be the topic of countless dinner party debates. As civility and friendship disintegrate, each couple show just how far they are prepared to go to protect those they love.

As the dinner reaches its culinary climax, the conversation finally touches on their children. 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. 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.Įach couple has a fifteen-year-old son. 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. It's a summer's evening in Amsterdam, and two couples meet at a fashionable restaurant for dinner. Alternate cover edition can be found hereĪn 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.

The dinner by herman koch