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jcav13's review against another edition
1.0
This is by far the worst book I’ve read this year. It’s like a paper you have to write in college that needs to be 1000 words and you’ve run out of things to say so you just explain your self in different ways to get to the word count limit.
I don’t recommend this to anyone, I’m very disappointed because it said New York Times best seller and I find that hard to believe after what I just read.
I don’t recommend this to anyone, I’m very disappointed because it said New York Times best seller and I find that hard to believe after what I just read.
shejustread's review against another edition
2.0
For a reader to like a book or be so hooked that they can't help but turn the page, it needs to have something they can relate to. Unfortunately, there's nothing in this book anyone except an entitled powerful psychopathic family can relate to. For once I find myself at a loss for words to describe how disappointing, slow and just improbable the story is.
booksamongstfriends's review against another edition
1.0
There’s not much for me to say about this book.
I didn’t like it. I didn’t enjoy reading it. I think it tried so hard to be good and seem interesting, but the story kind of just drags on. You could skip to 50% of this book and still be sitting at the dinner table with nobody saying anything. The incident that occurred is supposed to be shocking, but everything after that wasn’t.
This book is aimed to draw focus around the lengths parents will go to and the moral dilemmas they face when it comes to protecting their children. But I think they could’ve introduced the incident a lot earlier and had more discussion about the fallout and everything that came after these revelations. It felt like we spent so much time trying to build up what was supposed to be suspense at this dinner table that you ultimately kind of just lose interest.
I didn’t like it. I didn’t enjoy reading it. I think it tried so hard to be good and seem interesting, but the story kind of just drags on. You could skip to 50% of this book and still be sitting at the dinner table with nobody saying anything. The incident that occurred is supposed to be shocking, but everything after that wasn’t.
This book is aimed to draw focus around the lengths parents will go to and the moral dilemmas they face when it comes to protecting their children. But I think they could’ve introduced the incident a lot earlier and had more discussion about the fallout and everything that came after these revelations. It felt like we spent so much time trying to build up what was supposed to be suspense at this dinner table that you ultimately kind of just lose interest.
racheledelson's review against another edition
2.75
Perfect burning man read. This book thought it was a bit too clever imo but I still did appreciate the dinner structure, the increasingly unreliable narrator, and the few profound passages. Curious if the movie does a better job tying all these threads together.
tpeirona's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
1.0
Yikes. This book was awkward and I hated it. All the characters were completely unlikable in every way, shape, and form. The unreliable narrator drove me crazy and all I could think is why am I not DNF'ing this but every time I wanted to I just sighed and kept it playing in my headphones.
laurenbdavis's review against another edition
3.0
The narrator's voice was wonderfully written -- highly unreliable and with snark to spare. I would have given the book more stars were it not for the implausible set-up. By this I mean: I find it hard to believe that anyone, let alone a highly public politician, would meet at a highly public and terribly posh restaurant to discuss the horrific murder he has just discovered his child, along with that child's cousin, committed. Because the premise struck me as ridiculous, it tainted my view of the rest of the book.
barbaraalfond's review against another edition
1.0
The blurb on the cover of this unsavory stew is by Gillian Flynn. She avers that "The Dinner" is unputdownable. Dear Reader, I put it down. And I suggest that you not pick it back up. It's an indescribable horror, a meal without end, with characters you'd never wish to share either a banquet, or a banquette.
strosfan80's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
3.25
zupphiya's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Paul Lohmann is insufferable. Not only is he a psychopath but also a chronic yapper.
ms_hartman's review against another edition
3.0
2.75, maybe a 3.
I liked the idea of this but the execution fell a little flat for me. It felt like a writing exercise rather than a fully formed novel. I loved the formatting/storytelling structure, the way Koch lined up plot with courses of a meal was done well. However, I did not find the narrative all that compelling. I was never in that much suspense until the last 10%. The choice to tell the story from Paul's POV was interesting but if he really wanted to tell the story from an outsider perspective it might have been more interesting to hear from the restaurant staff or something. This book didn't necessarily do anything wrong but I don't think it delivered what I wanted from it.
I liked the idea of this but the execution fell a little flat for me. It felt like a writing exercise rather than a fully formed novel. I loved the formatting/storytelling structure, the way Koch lined up plot with courses of a meal was done well. However, I did not find the narrative all that compelling. I was never in that much suspense until the last 10%. The choice to tell the story from Paul's POV was interesting but if he really wanted to tell the story from an outsider perspective it might have been more interesting to hear from the restaurant staff or something. This book didn't necessarily do anything wrong but I don't think it delivered what I wanted from it.