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stevienotnicks 's review for:
The Dinner
by Herman Koch
challenging
dark
emotional
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
Truly, I almost DNF’d this one, but I pushed through if only to satisfy one of the entries for the StoryGraph World Challenge.
At first, I was hooked. While it seemed, on the surface, that a book revolving around a single dinner would be boring, the characters all seemed to be hiding something, and I thought that might make for an interesting reveal. As the dinner progressed, it certainly seemed to be heading in that direction.
Somewhere along the way, it felt like the author forgot where they were going with the story, however, and it derailed into almost a tangent in the form of non-cohesive flashbacks. Yes, on some level the content did add color to the motivations of the narrator, but by this point, the big reveal had already happened and it was only 50% done.
By the end, I couldn’t really reconcile what I had read, nor did the story feel complete. It seems like all that backstory led nowhere after all.
At first, I was hooked. While it seemed, on the surface, that a book revolving around a single dinner would be boring, the characters all seemed to be hiding something, and I thought that might make for an interesting reveal. As the dinner progressed, it certainly seemed to be heading in that direction.
Somewhere along the way, it felt like the author forgot where they were going with the story, however, and it derailed into almost a tangent in the form of non-cohesive flashbacks. Yes, on some level the content did add color to the motivations of the narrator, but by this point, the big reveal had already happened and it was only 50% done.
By the end, I couldn’t really reconcile what I had read, nor did the story feel complete. It seems like all that backstory led nowhere after all.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Violence, Murder