The Dinner

a novel

Hardcover, 292 pages

English language

Published Feb. 6, 2013 by Hogarth.

OCLC Number:
1031963179

View on OpenLibrary

3 stars (14 reviews)

On a summer evening in Amsterdam, two couples meet at a fashionable restaurant for dinner. At first, the conversation is a gentle hum of polite small talk - the banality of work, the latest movies they've seen. 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. When 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 is an internationally bestselling …

15 editions

I hated this book and everyone in it

2 stars

Content warning This review gives away the ending.

Review of 'The Dinner' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Un bon roman qui m'a un peu rappelé l'excellent "Defending Jacob" que j'avais lu et adoré en début d'année. Le découpage en 5 parties au rythme du dîner (apéritif, entrée, plat principal, dessert, digestif) est un peu artificiel, d'autant que la partie la plus longue ("plat principal") donne lieu à de nombreuses diggressions avec des flash-backs qui sans être inintéressants donnent l'impression d'être présents pour prolonger le suspense. Les personnages sont détestables mais on se laisse prendre au jeu par le récit.

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Subjects

  • Families
  • Fiction

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