Disjointed. Unlikeable characters.
Badly written.
So, Shaman, tell us what you really
think about The Dinner by Herman Koch!
Two brothers and their wives meet up at
a fancy restaurant to discuss a very important matter that has to do
with their children. The narrator, one of the brothers, recounts the
events that led up to this evening. These events are presented in a
detached way, without emotion. Explanations are given, yet nobody is
held accountable, let alone takes responsibility willingly. Still,
every single person around that table should be stepping up to the
plate.
The book is divided into sections named
after the course the two couples are currently eating. This I found
an annoying gimmick, especially because the dishes – otherwise
completely irrelevant to the story – are presented in detail
(something that has made me skip whole paragraphs when reading Game
of Thrones). Maybe this was done on purpose, to irritate the
reader and bring him or her closer to the state of mind of Paul, our
narrator. By all appearances in a constant state of irritation and
with a dangerously short fuse, he makes for a character that's hard
to empathise with. His beliefs are at such odds with mine that I
almost shuddered with distaste every time he talked about them. I
suppose that, if there is one thing Koch succeeds in is to prove
that, if you're not careful, you become the monster you detest.
Writing-wise I found the language too
simplistic, although that might have depended on the translation. It
was difficult at times to understand when the events described were
taking place, as the story jumped from ”now” to ”two hours ago”
to ”some months ago” to ”many years ago” in a disjointed,
confusing manner. Some of the narrator's recollections seem to do
little to add to the story except further irritate the reader.
The Dinner was a quick read and
it did make me think, so it wasn't a complete waste of my
time. But I enjoyed watching Carnage, a film with a similar premise, much more than this.
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