The Dinner
The Dinner by Herman Koch
Published: 2009
Narrated by: Clive Mantle
Translated By: Sam Garrett (from Dutch in 2012)
Length: 08:55 (292 pages)
I’ve stated before that I enjoy unlikable curmudgeons for protagonists. Not in every book I read, but when I come across one I do consider it a treat. There’s something exciting about reading a character who completely personifies your worst Monday morning attitude, and this is one area where The Dinner succeeds.
Two couples meet at an expensive restaurant. The husbands are brothers, one was a school teacher and the other is a politician months away from an inevitable win. Over the course of the dinner, a dark family truth is revealed and we learn how they discovered this and how they plan to cope.
It’s a difficult novel to summarize, because a large part of the enjoyment of this is the slow reveal of the truth throughout the novel, the truth of the events that occurred as well as the true personalities of the characters. The novel, when not in flashback, takes place entirely in and around the restaurant. It’s the sort of story that depends completely on pacing, and Herman Koch really nailed that.
A terrible criminal act was committed, and the question of the novel is how the family will react and why they’ll react how they do. It’s interesting to see unfold, particularly when the characters are unsavoury and unpredictable.
What I didn’t enjoy is how Koch explained the behaviour of the protagonist and his son, how he essentially implied that Asperger’s was the cause of these people being violent sociopaths. He said in interviews that he didn’t want to name a disease, that he kept it vague to avoid people calling it a crude caricature, but in so obviously hinting at it the result was the same, even if he tried to rid himself of any personal responsibility.
There was really no need to even include this in the story. Trying to link this behaviour to a hereditary medical issue actually comes across as less believable than linking it to his environment and upbringing.
Anyhoo, despite some problems, I found this to be a compelling read. Having a story take place throughout a dinner, with the actual narrative being divided up by course, was fun as well. I liked how he gave character clues around how they interacted with the food and service staff. The reviews on this seem to be very divided, with some people absolutely hating it, but I had a fun time listening to this one on audiobook.
6 Comments
Ruthiella
I agree, the “biological” explanation didn’t work for me either and I think it would have been a stronger book without it. What I did especially like was the fact that no one was likable but all the characters were interesting and well drawn.
Rob
Yes, definitely a sign of good writing when you still care about the outcome with unlikable characters.
Wendy Klik
I think this sounds like an interesting concept for a story and I do have some free credits on audible.com.
Rob
Clive Mantle did a great job on the narration.
Claudia Riley
You would probably like Nero Wolfe, in Rex Stout’s series of mysteries. He’s pretty much of a curmudgeon. This one sounds interesting. Was the food memorable?
Rob
I’ve never heard of Nero Wolfe, but I’ll have to look those up. I do enjoy mysteries and don’t read very many.
When he did briefly focus on the food, his descriptions were well done, and I thought he did a good job of presenting the food being served as something important to the character building, but I wouldn’t say the food in this novel stood out or was particularly memorable.