Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Dinner

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Dinner by Herman Koch

30 reviews

rosa96's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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juandb's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

A novel whose most enticing element is its plot: two couples meeting at a restaurant to discuss what to do about the horrible act their sons have committed. The complex relationship between the four characters makes the whole affair very entertaining, and it definitely made me want to keep reading till the end. But at the end of the day, I think that's what I'll remember the most from it: that it was entertaining.
Don't get me wrong: the book absolutely accomplishes what it sets out to do, which is to tell an entertaining story that mantains a tense atmosphere throughout. It's not a lifechanger, and it doesn't try to be one. I've read some other reviews that mention how it "makes you reconsider the sort of education we give to our children", and, while I see how one could get that impression, I just don't think the novel explores the subject enough to actually say anything about it. Sure, it describes how witnessing their father being violent could (what a surprise) make a child violent, but that's so obvious that it doesn't even feel like the book is actually saying anything. It feels like reading a book that describes how water freezes at 0°C: no one would call that a "comment on water mechanics"; it's just a fact. Maybe if it hadn't been so direct in how it describes the father's violence, it would have been more effective; but the episodes it narrates are so raw, so exaggeratedly violent, that it almost feels satirical.
Something that I want to mention about the book is how every single character in it (it feels wrong to make such an absolute statement, but I honestly couldn't leave out anyone) is sickeningly immoral. The narrator, his wife, his brother and his sister-in-law. His son as well, and his brothers' two sons. Every single character that has some role in the story is either repugnant from the beginning, or is revealed to be later on. At first I actually thought the narrator's smugness toward his brother would stem from a genuine dislike of his lifestyle and worldview, but both he and his wife are later revealed to be just as crooked. I honestly don't have a problem with reading books with loathsome characters, and this isn't the exception, especially since I got a strong impression that the author was well aware of how horrid they were. I saw the book almost as a window into a world of people with repulsive ideologies, like it was telling me "See? See how awful these people are? The narrator thinks his brother is bad, but in reality he's just as bad as him!"
Overall, as I said, the book is definitely interesting, and I would recommend it to anyone searching for something to grab their attention for a while.

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domenicar's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The main characters are obviously despicable, but that is intended and the point of the book. If it is done well, I don't need loveable characters to enjoy a book. I am not sure if it was the case here.

First of all, I have never seen more racial slurs in one book. I am not sure whether it was to highlight the awfulness of the characters or the author's edginess. All in all, I feel like the point could have been made without them and they made me enjoy the book less.

I also briefly considered DNF'ing this book, because it was painfully slow-paced. It was meandering for ages to finally arrive at reveals that were mostly fairly easy to guess and/or anti-climactic, especially towards the end.

This is the first book I've read from Herman Koch and despite everything, I generally liked his writing style and would probably try another book of his in the future.

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jazsever's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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rogy's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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guadagar's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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nenaveenstra's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Ik zag op het internet ineens een boel mensen de Engelse vertaling van dit boek lezen, dus ik raakte geïntrigeerd. Hoezo is dit boek zo populair dat het in zoveel talen vertaald is?

Ik heb daar na het luisteren van dit boek nog steeds geen antwoord op. Het boek is namelijk erg Nederlands. De 'tolerante' houding van deze mensen jegens allerlei minderheidsgroepen is zo typisch, en de manier waarop alles eindigt zou best als racistisch kunnen worden beschouwd.

Maar goed, ik was wel geëntertaind. Als je begint aan dit boek, heb je geen idee wat je te wachten staat, en de manier waarop alles zich uitvouwde had ik - tot op de laatste kwart, denk ik - niet zien aankomen. Als je eenmaal weet wat er speelt, wordt het boek wel een beetje voorspelbaar. Het was prima.

Overigens; ik zie veel mensen zeggen dat dit een boek is over hoever ouders gaan om hun kinderen te beschermen. Maar in mijn ogen proberen ze alleen maar zichzelf te beschermen. Michel is een kopie van zijn vader. Als Michel door de mand valt, doet Paul dat ook. En hetzelfde geldt voor Serge.

Spoiler

het is niet voor niks dat hij zijn presidentschap wil opofferen. Niet om zijn zoon, maar om zijn eigen reputatie.

(Zoals altijd bij luisterboeken vraag ik me af of ik er meer van had genoten als ik het met mijn eigen ogen had gelezen, maar we zullen het nooit weten.)

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