SBC: The Dinner by Herman Kock

BabyRN2006 · April 2014

I chose this books for the category: Read a New York Times Notable book from 2012 or 2013. Post a Review. 25 Points.

This book has been called the "European Gone Girl" but I honestly think that is inaccurate. Besides the unreliable narrator, unlikeable characters, and "twist" ending I don't find the two comparable at all. I struggled to get through this book and honestly if I hadn't been reading it for SBC I might not have finished it. Part of my dislike of the book was the constant jumping around from past to present without notice. A good portion of the time I had no idea if something was currently happening or if it was a recollection of the past. Quite a few things were left intentionally vague and I was not a fan of that writing style.

I gave this book 2 stars

One Sweet Shannon · April 2014

I liked it, but I listened to the audio, and I think it made a difference. You mention difficulty with the time jumps, but I didn't experience that, which I will chalk up to the narrator. I don't know if I would have liked it if I had read it.

I understand the comparisons to Gone Girl -- obviously not the plot or writing style or anything like that, but you mentioned the twist, the unreliable narrator, unlikeable characters, and for me those key elements were enough similarities.

When I think of the two (and I fall into the loved-GG camp), I enjoyed GG a lot more. That I look forward to reading again, and I look forward to the movie. (I don't necessarily love movies from books, but I think GG will translate very well and I am looking forward to the new ending.) I don't think I would enjoy a movie of The Dinner, and one read-through is enough for me. I hate the characters, but not in a love-to-hate-them way.

jackiback · April 2014

I thought that this book was fantastic, but didn't hear it compared to GG until after I finished reading it.

I thought that the characters and narrator were comparable but the storyline and how it unfolded was very different.

julie37619 · April 2014

I loved the book, but I also think the GG comparison is a bit unfortunate. The expectation is that the story will move at a fast pace, when it's really a lot slower and more thinky. Scientific terms.

hydrangeablue · May 2014

I just finished this last night and loved it! I hadn't heard of the Gone Girl comparison but I can definitely see it. This book left me unsettled but not as much as Gone Girl which I found much more disturbing. It's my book club book for this month and I think it's going to give us a great discussion, especially since we all read Gone Girl last year.

I had it on audio and kindle which was great and I think the audio helped me keep up with the flow and the tone of the story. It was a great satire in my opinion but narrator definitely helped that along and helped me pick up on some of the subtleties in the text.

SBC: The Dinner by Herman Kock

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