The Dinner

November's read was The Dinner by Herman Koch.



Likened to We Need to Talk about Kevin and The Slap, this book sees two sets of parents meeting over dinner to discuss an outrageous deed which their children have carried out. The interaction between the diners and the waiting staff provides an interesting backdrop and a little light relief, to what is otherwise an unpleasant story. This was certainly a thought provoking read and well received by the group, it would be difficult to describe it as enjoyable - most likely because none of the characters had any sense of decency, quite the opposite. Even Paul, who for much of the book you felt some empathy, turns out to be 'a few pages short of a novel'.

Other books that we talked about include:

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes by Anna McPartlin
The Ice Twins by Tom Knox - recommended by Richard and Judy and described as 'gripping'
The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee, described as very point driven rather than the plot taking precedence by one of our group.
The Burned Bridges of Ward, Nebraska by Eileen Curtright
In Order to Live by Park Yeonmi

Next time:
The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak
Thursday 14th January 2016