THE DINNER (2013)

The Dinner by Herman Koch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"The Dinner, the sixth novel by award-winning Dutch author Herman Koch and already a bestseller in Europe, arrives in the U.S. with an excellent translation and great deal of well-deserved advance praise. A slow burn creeper, this suspenseful and unsettling novel turns a microscope on parenthood, examining the darkness that may lie just below the thin veneer of civilization, social grace and propriety."

Bottom Line: If you loved Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, like I did, you will devour this psychological thriller.

A few years ago I discovered Page & Palette in Fairhope, Alabama and fell in love. That was before every new bookstore in my community closed. (We do have an extensive used book store.) Now when I visit each year, I stop in to see what I am missing. It's exciting to be able to see wonderful books no matter where you cast your eyes.

I was looking for just one special book to purchase. What would I choose? I actually had another book in my hand when I turned around and spotted a display featuring a Wall Street Journal article and The Dinner. It wouldn't ordinarily have been my choice, but I decided to trust this wonderful bookstore and I am so glad I did. (Of course, it didn't hurt that there were comments from Scott Smith, Gillian Flynn, and S.J.Watson on the cover.)

Unfortunately, like Gone Girl, this is a book you need to discover and too much discussion of the story will ruin the experience. I can tell you that it takes place at an expensive restaurant on a single evening where two brothers and their wives are having dinner to discuss their children. If you are a theater goer, you may suppose this will be like Yasmina Reza's God of Carnage. It's not. And like Gone Girl, wherever you think the story is going, it isn't.

Not all literary translations are worthy of the story they tell, but Sam Garrett's work is seamless.

I paid $24.00 plus $2.16 in tax versus purchasing this book from Amazon for $14.31 plus shipping costs (or not) for the same hard back edition, but in exchange I had a lovely conversation with one of the staff and that was worth the difference in price to me.

If you aren't willing to trust my recommendation, check out this unusual way of sharing the excitement of discovering The Dinner.

Disclaimer: I made a resolution for 2013 to visit independent bookstores, buy a book, read it, and blog about the bookstore.

Title: The Dinner

Author: Herman Koch

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Publisher: Hogarth

No. of Pages: 304 pages

Copyright: February 12, 2013

ISBN: 0770437850

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Source: Page & Pallette, Fairhope, Alabama

Herman Koch, a Dutch actor as well as writer, is the author of seven novels and three collections of short stories. The Dinner, his sixth novel, has been published in 25 countries, and was the winner of the Publieksprijs Prize in 2009. He currently lives in Amsterdam. 


View all my reviews

Translations and Packages in the Mail

Some books just cannot be obtained in a timely manner from your local public library. I'm pretty sure I read about this title in The New Yorker recently. I jotted down the author and title and did a search. When the only way it showed up was in the statewide database (and only three libraries had ordered it), I impatiently decided it was Amazon time. So now I can hold in my hand a hardcover copy of Villain: A Novel by Shuichi Yoshida.

According to the cover this is the English language debut of Yoshida, "one of Japan's most acclaimed and accomplished writers". Described as a "stunningly dark thriller" with a touch of noir, I am wondering if translator Philip Gabriel will do it justice.

I am anxiously awaiting turning the first page later today!

The Angel's Game (2009)

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Like many of the other reviewers noted on goodreads, I started reading with great enthusiasm and became confused and uncertain towards the end. The Angel's Game is not the tale that The Shadow of the Wind was although Lucia Graves' translation has the same lyrical quality.

The Gothic feel and the description of Barcelona are enough to draw a reader in. Those who love books and find them valuable will find much to consider. Even though I was disappointed on some level, I won't hesitate to read another book by this author. He is a master of storytelling.

"This place is a mystery. A sanctuary. Every book, every volume you see, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and the soul of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it."


View all my reviews

The Shadow of the Wind (2001) (2004)

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


When this book was recommended to me, I was reluctant to read it. Translations are not always what the writer intended, but this book is exquisite and so beautifully written and translated that it is a delight to read. You will want to write down and remember the illuminating thoughts, truths and quotes.

If you are a passionate reader, you will fall into this story and follow Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer's son, in his quest to learn more about the author of The Shadow of the Wind, a book he has pledged to protect. The phrase "an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love" doesn't completely do justice to this magical tale.



View all my reviews