Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Dinner by Herman Koch

85 reviews

kaitidid's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

3.75

A nice, tense, unreliable narrator read. Had some uncomfortable undertones (racism, classism) that were definitely there to show what kind of people the characters were, but I’d caution against it if that will make you uncomfortable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Murder, Death, and Torture

Moderate: Racism, Gaslighting, Blood, Bullying, and Injury/Injury detail

sophiaroesler's review against another edition

challenging dark tense

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Murder, Violence, and Classism

lisettela's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Racism, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, and Classism

j_schley's review

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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

This book will leave you feeling profoundly unsettled and very disturbed. Yet, it was almost impossible for me to put down. There’s a pervasive and thick feeling of unease from the first page, and any opinions you form of characters or situations will not hold true by the novel’s conclusion. 

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, and Violence

Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, Gore, Blood, Racism, Rape, Classism, and Racial slurs

madimarshmallow's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

I really liked this book! The characters are infuriating in the best way possible. I did feel it dragged in the middle a bit and was too quick at the end. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Violence

Minor: Racism

inhaledmocha's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.5

What a wild ride. I never expected anything that happened in this book. Fantastic read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Violence, Racism, and Mental illness

Moderate: Xenophobia and Classism

isabellew27's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Classism, and Fire/Fire injury

sylvestra's review against another edition

dark tense 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Murder

Moderate: Violence and Medical content

dobermaier's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Death, Murder, Racism, and Violence

laurenmiller100's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

• Characters: 7 - I dislike all of the characters, but that’s the point. The slow reveals of their natures is intentional.
• Atmosphere/Setting: 8 - I really enjoyed the framing narrative. I think at times it would have been better to avoid some of the Paul side stories. Especially during the main course. It slowed things down when I was really wanting more information.
• Writing Style: 7
• Plot: 8
• Intrigue: 9
• Logic/Relationships: 9
• Enjoyment: 7 As others have mentioned, this is a bit of a difficult read. I just do not want to be in Paul’s head.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder