Book: The Dinner

There is a reason that both the front and the back cover of my paperback copy of The Dinner contain references to Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl. Herman Koch's novel reads like a blend between Flynn's 2012 best seller and Yasmina Reza's God of Carnage, with a little bit of foodie-ism thrown in for good measure. It's eminently readable--I read the whole thing on a flight from Salt Lake City to Atlanta--but that's not to say I entirely liked it.

In fact, I'm not sure what to make of it. Koch--like many modern authors--isn't particularly interested in creating characters that are likable or relatable, and his narrator Paul Lohman becomes increasingly off-putting and unreliable as the novel progresses. Though that creates some interesting plot twists, it at times is infuriating. In fact, I'm glad my wife was sitting next to me on the airplane, because I know I groaned aloud at a few points. Paul's narration becomes increasingly skewed as the novel progresses, and at first what seems to be slightly rude behavior soon becomes both explainable and horrible. 

At the heart of the novel are the questions of what it means to be a parent and what it means to protect one's children, since this dinner between the four main characters is to talk about a central act committed by their children. As a teacher I have seen parents lie, cheat, and steal for their children (though by no means is that all parents, just a small minority) and so many of the conversations between Paul, his wife, and his brother and sister-in-law were frighteningly believable. Unfortunately, not every twist in the book was as believable, and though it was silly at times it was still quite a page turner.

Grade: B-