Book Review: The Dinner by Herman Koch

My last few posts have all been about restaurant reviews, so it is only appropriate that this review is about a book titled The Dinner.  In addition to being a foodie, I also love reading books.  From time to time, I will write a book review on his blog if I come across a book that I truly enjoyed.

I absolutely loved The Dinner. Without a doubt, this was the best piece of fiction I have read in some time.  In fact, this is the best novel  I have read since I finished The Millennium Series by Stieg Larsson.

The Dinner was an international bestseller and debuted on the New York Times Bestseller list the week it was first printed in the U.S.   In its third week on the list, it is currently ranked number 8 on the hardcover fiction list and is continuing to climb.  After reading the reviews, I couldn't wait to get my hands on this novel and I was not disappointed. Some critics even dubbed it "The European Gone Girl" or the "Gone Girl of 2013. "  Those comparisons do not do this novel justice. The Dinner is a much better book in my opinion.


Herman Koch has written a novel where the major story slowly revealed itself during a family dinner between two brothers and their spouses. Reading The Dinner is much like peeling an onion, layer by layer. With each page you learn more about the characters and finally ascertain the reason the couples are really meeting for dinner at the upscale restaurant. This novel is an interesting character study in family dynamics and how far parents will go to protect their children. Some people might not like the ending and some will find it disturbing. After getting to know the characters, I thought it was the perfect ending to this novel. This is a very dark novel, so if you are looking for a fairy tale with a happy ending, this may not be the book for you.  I highly recommend this book and cannot begin to describe how great this book really is!