Herman Koch

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 scrapings of cutlery, the conversation remains a gentle hum of polite discourse. 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.

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.

(back cover)

a novel

The Dinner

Het diner

Ik ben enorm verrassend door dit boek. Ik dacht eerst dat dit een luchtig boek zou zijn maar het lijkt meer op het parfum dan op een luchtig boek. Hij leest snel door en de stijl laat mij een beetje aan Mulish denken, maar je moet niet denken dat de hoofdpersoon een goed mens is. Ik ben enorm  verbaasd over het einde en ben er wel stil van.

Bart Veldhuijsen 

matti horckmans

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.

Ryan Mateyk

Ummmmm..... this was truly insane. Interesting to read about how the other half lives, and by the other half, I mean actual sociopaths!

It’s a book where you hate every character but the story was compelling enough for me to push through 

Harika Bommu

Alecx Motus

I waited a few days after reading the book to see if i would change my mind about it. Nope. Really disliked this book. The narrator was quite unreliable so I was never sure of the things he talked about actually happened. None of the characters were likable and I just couldn't quite follow their thought process.

Amulya Garimella

Grace M

A good story, a good reveal, just okay execution. Translation may be to blame, or just my own as a reader. The time jumps in the story were difficult to follow and left me feeling disengaged with the plot. Otherwise, a solid tension-filled story with good social commentary.

Pretty decent story, pretty complex too. It was a tad bit boring at times, but the overall story did keep me reading. The end was vague, a bit too vague for my personal liking, but other people might open endings. Koch points out many details that don’t really matter, but exist to establish Paul’s character. I actually grew to hate the characters more and more as the story progressed. I’d say Claire was the least awful one, even though she hid many things from her husband. I also still don’t get certain things, like Paul not calling Claire his wife. But I’m not too experienced in literature, so take that with a grain of salt.

The ending was only fun because of the interaction between Claire and Serge.

Penna Alae

Pretty decent story, pretty complex too. It was a tad bit boring at times, but the overall story did keep me reading. The end was vague, a bit too vague for my personal liking, but other people might open endings. Koch points out many details that don’t really matter, but exist to establish Paul’s character. I actually grew to hate the characters more and more as the story progressed. I’d say Claire was the least awful one, even though she hid many things from her husband. I also still don’t get certain things, like Paul not calling Claire his wife. But I’m not too experienced in literature, so take that with a grain of salt.

The ending was only fun because of the interaction between Claire and Serge.

almost every character in this is repulsive. funnily enough, the character you dislike the most at the start of the novel ends up being one of the least horrendous — he’s still awful, don’t get me wrong, but other characters in this novel set a high benchmark. Koch unravels the story well, and as you get to know the narrator better, you start to view his actions and motives in a different light. Perhaps the narrator goes down one too many tangents; they all proved important for the overall story, but the frequency with which the narrative strays to flashbacks became a little bit frustrating after a while. 

Dark and twisted. Awful characters doing awful things

This was SO tough to get through I feel like I read about the silly details for so long that it seemed like an interruption going back to the plot. I found myself thinking “just get to the point already” SEVERAL times. It was boring to say the least and honestly predictable. The main character/narrator was annoying because he seemed so spineless and honestly downright weird. 

Stephanie Ianculovici 

Two couples meet over dinner to discuss their children who misbehaved, but avoid doing so.

Bouke van der Bijl

Heftig boek. Ik wist niets over dit boek van tevoren en dat is beter. In het begin vond ik dit boek buitengewoon vermakelijk omdat ik de komische observaties van de hoofdpersoon ontzettend kan waarden—ik kijk vaak op dezelfde manier naar de wereld. Het boek draait om geheimen die stukje bij beetje onthult worden. Aan het einde weet je wat er allemaal is gebeurd maar meer wil ik niet kwijt zonder hier een spoiler van te maken.

Rebecca Shaffer

I'm rating it 3 stars because I found some aspects of the storyline predictable & not as captivatingly written as they could have been. But, I was also oddly drawn to the narrator, and the more unreliable he became the more interesting the book became. I'm not going to say much else for fear of spoiling, but if you choose to read this one- you will not soon forget it or the larger themes it explores.

Jessica Ford

I've never rated a book so low, but I really didn't like this book. The characters were all despicable. I hated how the narrator constantly went off on tangents that sort of, sort of didn't relate to the story. I feel like I wasted several hours reading this. I would not recommend it.

kody probst

I don't see how anyone could even begin to compare this or put this on the same level as Gone Girl. It was terrible.

Amy Thibodeau

I think the structure and writing of this was pretty great. Despite it all taking place over the course of a dinner, I felt myself compelled to move forward. Koch does a pretty amazing job at creating forward momentum. 

Of course, I hated every character and felt dissatisfied by the ending, but I think the book intended that. It made me feel strongly, even if those emotions were centered around wanting everyone to get what's coming to them. :) 

This is a quick, easy read with surprisingly good writing.

mevi

3 stars

The Dinner talks about mental health issues, battery, and murder. The narrator, Paul, is completely unreliable so you have to read between the lines to better understand the situation. I also despise the entire cast of characters. Recommend if you like dark topics.

Amy Vicknair

Ley Stanton

This book. It's start off slow as you get to know the characters, primarily the narrator. As they get further into the dinner, you become aware of more problems that exist between the couples than what is obvious. Also, their teenage sons are some messed up kids. The last 20 or so pages of this just killed me. I did not see that coming in the slightest. But I definitely enjoyed the book more than I thought I would, especially because of how slow it started. Get past those slower chapters because it starts to build and all the things he told you at the beginning become extremely important. Overall, this is a messed up family but a great book to read.

Celeste Richardson

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” This quote from Anna Karenina is referenced multiple times throughout the course of The Dinner. If it’s true, and if the narrator’s family is an example of a happy family, then every “happy” person on the planet needs therapy. Because I’m pretty sure every member of this family are completely psychotic. Geez.

There were no good people in this story. No heroes. Heck, I didn’t even consider any of the characters likable. I’ve read books with horrible villains who had more redeeming qualities and who were more sympathetic than any member of the cast of characters in Koch’s novel. They were just, every one of them, basically horrible people. Not to mention certifiably insane.

If I had been actually reading this book instead of listening to it, I seriously doubt that I would have made it through the first chapter or two. It’s just not my kind of story. But I chose this as my audiobook for the past two weeks. (Side note: I live in the middle of nowhere, and I need something to listen to whenever I have to drive forty-five minutes to get to anywhere with people and groceries and the other perks of civilization.) Clive Mantle, the narrator, did a fabulous job. I didn’t care about the characters in the story, but I loved listening to Mantle read. He was perfection.

So, yeah, that’s my view on the story. I would have hated it if Mantle hadn’t read it. My three stars are pretty much just for his voice. I can’t say I’d recommend it to anyone.

Victoria P

it really is a 3 star book and nothing more. it wasn’t not good, but it wasn’t bad either. the characters were all freaking weird and they made me mad, the plot was interesting and it screamed “im white and rich!!!”

Cindy Lieberman

bere mendez

what a terrible book to start 2022 with. 
i read this because it was supposed to be a very gripping mystery- to me it wasn’t gripping or suspenseful at all, not until that last 20 ish pages- but it was just kind of boring. 

so unsatisfying and kind of gross at times. i don’t like the way male writers use describe things- things that sometimes do not need to be described. also the mc’s comment about how he thought he was too special to eat corn because he viewed it as pig food. and idk if it was just me, but the casual racism? maybe i misinterpreted but some of the thoughts/dialogue about the only poc character made me uncomfy. not to mention the.. lack of action taken about unsettling acts. 

maybe whatever point this book was trying to convey flew over my head, but i’m not interested in what it was. 

some other reasons i didn’t like this book:
- i don’t like reading books based in europe. idk why. 
- i don’t like reading books where the main characters are rich/entitled. 

i seem to have a knack for having my first book of the year be terrible.

edit: im reading the reviews- this is not gone girl-y at all. maybe ill come back and edit to talk about the actual plot/ characters.

roya herrle

i enjoyed the slow build of things being twisted onto their head; i also couldn't help but feel as though there was a satirical nature to it. liked it!

The Dinner a novel

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