The Dinner (Atlantic Cult Classics)

by Herman Koch

Sam Garrett (Translator)

A summer's evening in Amsterdam and two couples meet at a fashionable restaurant. 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 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, and as civility and friendship disintegrates, each couple show just how far they are prepared to go to protect those they love.

• ISBN10: 1921921528
• ISBN13: 9781921921520
• Publish Date: 25 July 2012
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: AU
• Imprint: Text Publishing
• Edition: New edition
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: http://textpublishing.com.au/books-and-authors/book/the-dinner/

Reviews

[celinenyx]

Good book, terrible morals

[lovelybookshelf]

This was one wild, crazy, twisted ride. Lots of messed up rationalization going on that made for cutting social commentary. The story unfolds slowly, but once things start rolling it is psychologically fascinating and absolutely gripping. And even when you’ve figured something out, when your suspicion is finally confirmed Herman Koch still manages to punch you in the gut!

More of my thoughts on this title can be found on my blog at Lovely Bookshelf.

[redjoy53]

hated this book. It was okay in the beginning and would have been worth hanging in if it actually went anywhere.

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

The Dinner by Herman Koch takes place over the course of one meal between two brothers and their wives. The novel begins with an aperitif, being an introduction to the couples and casual small talk. When we reach the succulent main course we learn the true reason for the evening out; to talk about their children and the heinous crime their sons have committed.

The Dinner poses the question to what lengths would you go for your children? Having no children of my own I cannot answer that, but I do have a younger brother I would move Heaven and Earth for. I imagine it is something like that.

The couples in question are two brothers and their wives. The eldest brother Serge is running for office and supposedly a shoe-in, thus having a very big head and will do anything for the vote. Paul (who is our narrator) on the outside seems normal but as the story evolves the reader sees how fucked up he truly is. Their wives, are like a bunny-eared tv set going in and out of focus with their drama adding to the soap opera of sorts.

The main course which I had avidly been waiting for like a good steak explains why these two brothers who loath each other meet? Their teenage sons, Serge's two boys, one adapted one biological and Paul's only child have set a homeless woman on fire and unintentionally killed her. There is a blurry security video but clear enough for their parent's to recognize. Should they do the right thing and turn them in potentially ruining the children's future and that of Serge's campaign? Or walk away from the incident as if nothing had affected them? A question of morals.

The swanky restaurant in Amsterdam that is our setting serves very small portions but I found Herman Koch's novel to be anything but. Rather, a scrumptious tasting and would have devoured a second helping.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

Paul and Claire are going out to dinner with Paul’s brother and his wife. The reason for this isn’t the usual family get together, this time they have something important to discuss; their children. The characters, the overpriced restaurant and the secret is what makes The Dinner by Herman Koch this novel live up to the hype. This satirical book was already a best seller but until only recently this book was never available in English.

I have to admit I was really looking forward to reading this book for my local book club; but what I was getting into, I really didn’t know. The Dinner is dark elegant book that takes you on a journey with some very unexpected twists. At first glance this book felt like a very light and easy read and you will plow through this book so quickly that when something unexpected happens you won’t see it coming. The characters in the book seem very real and Paul’s brother and his wife remind me a lot of characters from a Bret Easton Ellis book; they are charismatic and ambitious but feel very shallow nihilists.

The restaurant was a brilliant backdrop for this book; it was one of those places you need to book months in advance and Paul’s brother Serge thought it sport to try and book a table for the same day. Fine dining at a pretentious restaurant really felt like the perfect location for the explosive events in this book, you get the sense that everyone should act calm and composed in a place like this but what’s happened doesn’t really go hand in hand with calm or composed.

I was really pleased with this book, I love the dark and satirical nature of the plot mixed with the fine dining experience, they come together to make a thrilling read. The Dinner is full of mayhem and you will be shocked with every course been served but there is so much more in this book, the characters are real and it will question your thoughts of the best way to raise your children. The thought provoking elements remind me of Christos Tsiolkas’s The Slap and this book finds the balance between mystery and family drama. A well developed novel that I highly recommend people read.