A review by mercator
The Dinner by Herman Koch

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.75

It kept me on my toes for most of the book. I did want to find out what happened, how, why - but that excitement was completely overpowered by how disgusting the characters were. The sexism, psychotic teens, general terrible thoughts I was subject to throughout the reading experienced absolutely sullied this book. This isn't the case of an author writing these gross characters in a way to make the reader rethink their sympathies or anything, either. These characters are not written in a way I wanted to root for them, they seem to be the author's inner thoughts and I was disgusted.