READ THIS! {The Dinner}

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October's READ THIS! choice was a selection from Herman Koch, The Dinner...

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Amazon described it as, "An internationally bestselling phenomenon: the darkly suspenseful, highly controversial tale of two families stuggling to make the hardest decision of their lives - all over the course of one meal. It's a summer's evening in Amsterdam, and two couples meet at a fashionable restaurant for dinner. Between mouthfuls of food and over the scrapings of cutlery, the conversation remains a gentle hum of polite discourse. But behind the empty words, terrible things need to be said, and with every forced smile and every new course, the knives are being sharpened. Each couple has a fifteen-year-old son. The two boys are united by their accountability for a single horrific act; an act that has triggered police investigation and shattered the comfortable, insulated worlds of their families. As the dinner reaches it culinary climax, the conversation finally touches on their children. As civility and friendship disintegrate, each couple show just how far they are willing to go to protect those they love. Skewering everything from parenting values to pretentious menus to political convictions, this novel reveals the dark side of genteel society and asks what each of us would do in the face of unimaginable tragedy."

This book, set up to provide intrigue and action, to pull in the reader to a dark and scary world - falls short and fails to deliver what it promised. The Dinner wasn't all bad, but this story - of two brothers and their families - also wasn't great. The story surrounds a dinner between the two brothers and their wives - one brother a quiet teacher and the other a more gregarious politician. The dinner takes place after their sons have been involved in a horrific crime that authorities are investigating. The majority of the book discusses nothing really relating to the dinner and the crime. Instead, we spend most of the novel listening to the narrator describe things in the restaurant, tells us about his life, or complain about how his life is - and we don't even find out what the horrific crime is until more than halfway through the book. 

Overall, I enjoyed the plot, but thought the delivery of it left quite a bit to be desired as it moved too slowly and kept too much at bay from the reader. Did you read The Dinner? What did you think about it? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

And now, November's READ THIS book, We Were Liars by E. Lockhart...

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Amazon describes this book as, "A beautiful and distinguished family. A private island. A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy. A group of four friends - the Liars - whose frienship turns destructive. A revolution. An accident. A secret. Lies upon lies. True love. The truth. We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. Read it. And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE."

A few friends of mine have read this book and absolutely fell in love with it. It is sitting on my nightstand now, and I can't wait to dive into what is sure to be an amazing novel!

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