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j_schley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
If you enjoy unreliable narrators, moral ambiguity, and questions of ethics, this is absolutely a story you’ll want to pick up. It’s grimy and gritty and dark but provokes many questions about the mercurial nature of human morality and the tenuous bonds of dysfunctional families.
I also don’t advise reading this book while eating, despite its innocuous title.
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Classism
sylvestra's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Mental illness and Murder
Moderate: Violence and Medical content
hannahpeterson's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Abortion and Pregnancy
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Racism, Sexual content, Abortion, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Pedophilia and Pregnancy
beklovesbooks's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
clemrain's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book takes course through one dinner. An important dinner and discussion between difficult characters that are strong in their beliefs and will act on them. That is a threat.
The narrator, Paul, is astonishingly written. A wild ride of inner dialogues and anecdotes that are placed in just the right places. Koch uses great pacing and placements of Paul’s recounts. Paul is of the best unreliable narrator’s I’ve read.
The Dinner is such a real depiction of racism, prejudice and privilege. That doesn’t catch on until it does and then it just settles. I can’t explain it. Koch does such a good job. You really get put into the disillusionment of these people. It’s astonishing. These are some well written and realistic characters though majority of them, I really don't like.
I wish I could read this book in its original language. I wonder how much it would’ve differed. The pacing the wording. Either way, I do think this translation is effective.
The ending
This book is frustrating and for most of it I was just trying to understand what the point was. But there is a point and I wonder if it’ll ever be understood by the people this book is about.
Graphic: Hate crime, Violence, Medical content, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death, Racism, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Body horror and Infidelity
webb_beb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence and Medical content
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, and Murder
hollymich's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness, Torture, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Classism
kashby's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
2.75
Minor: Death, Violence, Medical content, Murder, and Alcohol
buecher_und_huehner's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I felt like I should add that, because, as I said, from a literary standpoint, this short novel does what it set out to do. If you love to read about twisted, despicable characters and the moral abysses that can lurk behind the façade of the "normal, happy family", I'd recommend this book. It just wasn't for me, at least not for now...
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Blood, and Medical content
Minor: Abortion