The Dinner

A Novel

By: Herman Koch, Sam Garrett - translator

Narrated by: Clive Mantle

Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The darkly suspenseful tale of two families struggling to make the hardest decision of their lives—all over the course of one meal. Now a major motion picture.

“Chilling, nasty, smart, shocking, and unputdownable.”—Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl

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 polite scrapings of cutlery, the conversation remains a gentle hum of polite discourse—the banality of work, the triviality of the holidays. 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 shows just how far they are prepared to go to protect those they love.

Tautly written, incredibly gripping, and told by an unforgettable narrator, The Dinner promises to be the topic of countless dinner party debates. 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.

©2009 Herman Koch; Translation © 2012 by Sam Garrett (P)2013 AudioGO

Interesting

Interesting read but starts off really slow!! I am not sure how I feel about ending but overall pretty listen\read

I wanted to hear a good story

...but the writer used this story to inject his very liberal agenda. I don't need to hear a 5 minute lecture on how liberals are superior to the rest of the world. The character Paul clearly doesn't like spending time with his brother, annoyed with almost everything about his brother. Starting with his choice of restaurant all the way to his profession-being a politician. I started out liking Paul but found myself noticing what a huge hypocrite he is. He looks down his nose at almost everything his brother says and does, but you can tell Paul feels he's intellectually superior to his brother because of his view points. I wanted to enjoy this book, and the story itself wasn't bad, but the author muddles you in a description of every second of every minute of every movement every single character makes. His thoughts are all over the place and you just really want the story to move forward. I found Paul to be jealous and rude. I didn't click with him at all. I liked the reader and thought he did an excellent job, the author...not so much. I won't be reading/listening to another one of his books ever again.

Aweseome read made better by outstanding narration

Would you listen to The Dinner again? Why?

Probably not simply because it is 8 and a half hours long! Life is too short.

What did you like best about this story?

Originality. Plot twists unexpected.

Which character – as performed by Clive Mantle – was your favorite?

The protagonist, Paul.

If you could rename The Dinner, what would you call it?

That is tough because the Dinner is such a great title for this story. I would not rename it.

Any additional comments?

If there were an academy awards of narration, this narrator would win an Oscar. He did an amazing job.

Awful Narration

I did not enjoy the narrator at all. He went between sounding extremely, sarcastically, bored to bursts of gusto and bravado. It distracted from the book so much. I hated when he practically screamed "Serge!"every time he said that name. He sounded so pompous and rude. It angers me that he gets paid to read (man, if only that could be me) and plays the readers for fools. Definitely one of my top three worst narrators. Ughhhhh

Book Club Read

I had read this book long before joining the book club, and recommended they read it. I thought it was a complex story which made you think- “What would you do?”
My fellow book club members , who are mostly mothers felt it was disturbing.

Riveting. Unwinds before you know it!

Would you listen to The Dinner again? Why?

No, never read twice, but loved it.

What did you like best about this story?

Plot, satire

What does Clive Mantle bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Wonderful accents, intonation. Compassion for characters.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Laughed out loud at the critique of the restaurant.

Any additional comments?

Very enlightening

Deception at its finest.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would prefer to see people doing "the right thing" so I would have liked to have seen one of the mothers try to get their sons to do the right thing rather than helping them to avoid getting caught.

If you’ve listened to books by Herman Koch and Sam Garrett (translator) before, how does this one compare?

Haven't heard another one.

What does Clive Mantle bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He did a very good job with intonations whether suggesting sarcasm or showing disdain for "Serge". I think this definitely added to the listen over reading it yourself.

Do you think The Dinner needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No, not really. Not sure where you would go from there. So much dysfunction; so little story.

Any additional comments?

It wasn't a "feel good" book and so much was implausible. While I totally understand the parental protectiveness I think very few people would "cross the line" like that even for their child. Most would feel that trying to help their child become a better person would trump helping them get away with something even if that means jail and rehabilitation. I also really didn't like the unrealistic, imaginary "mental disease" that was portrayed as something you could detect with amniocentesis. I don't think this was very scientifically plausible and sort of made the author look as though they hadn't done any research on this type of thing.

Disturbing conversation = Delicious book.

This book is excellent: witty, sometimes funny, often unsettling and sometimes ghastly. The 4 dinner companions are each different and surprising and seek to hide their prejudices and animosity. The narration is very good, the plot is intriguing and the characters are twisted.

Don't know about you, but I LOVED it!

At first it was like listening to a really boring professor...but suddenly it came alive and I couldnt put it down! I had to actually start over because I realized things I dozed off on before were important...very much worth the listen, I REALLY enjoyed and totally recommend!

A very strange book

When I began listening, the book was hilarious. Lots of sarcastic put-downs of pretentious people and a restaurant. I thought I was in for a funny ride. But the book does turn dark...very dark. We discover things about the characters that we didn't suspect. Many things. Getting pertinent information out of the main character and narrator is like pulling teeth - very frustrating but effective. He tells us many times of things he thought of saying in a particular situation....but then he didn't say them. We gradually learn many very relevant tidbits that we wouldn't have suspected that add to the development of the story. An interesting read, but I which Koch had stuck to funny.