The Dinner by Herman Koch

I read this book a while back during a stressful period in my life. So I was not paying attention to it until midway through. Then I locked my sights on it and am here to recommend it.

Housekeeping first:

1. The Dinner is a book that has been compared to Gone Girl and we need to stop right here.

It's nothing like Gone Girl.

The characters in The Dinner are far worse disordered.

Gone Girl has characters of loathsome qualities but there was a bit of a sympathy factor for them as the reader. (It was a very slight sympathy factor.) The books are two different stories.Both in high regard (unless you talk to a few of my book group members. I had to promise to read Harry Potter so they would at the very least, go see Gone Girl in the movies, they are a very loving but tough crowd.) 

we can talk about my blatant rebellion on not reading happy potter another day.

2.It also received the rap that it was "very disturbing" which I have to add, not so. I have read disturbing and this book scores a five out of ten in the very disturbing reads category. But we can also say disturbing can be subjective. I say it's a five.

The premise: Two brothers meet at an expensive restaurant to talk about Serge's career as possibly the next PM of the Netherlands. Babett and Claire, their wives, respectively, attend as they are a part of this family business that must be attended to. Paul, the other  brother,  is a man of many neurotic intensities and complexities.  They have business to discuss before Serge goes forth into his candidacy. 

This business is their sons who committed a violent act.

The entire book is over many dinner courses in the restaurant. They are allowed to venture off for walks or mental back stories to build up the story. Serge has a career to uphold and Paul is a curmudgeon who has a lot of violence boiling inside of him. They have a lot to go back to in memory that adds so much to the story. A good twist here and there, you won't be able to guess what is going to happen next.

Where does violence begin? How is it cultivated and cooked down to a fine mixture? 

You will have many questions.

It's a book that I have a bit of a hard time reviewing as I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone. I downloaded the book after reading the premise and was transfixed with this very psychological, gastronomical, and violent story. It was written well, it was executed with brilliance in using a full meal/evening to tell this disturbing story. and I tend to like the whole "sit down for a whole drawn out meal while we go back and forth to get the end" story. 

Borrow it.

Or keep a check on Kindle for a low price, it has happened here and there.