The Dinner by Henry Koch - SPOILERS

[nickyb325]

So, I don't want to actually write a whole big long review, but I'm curious to talk about this book with other people who might have read it.

I really ended up enjoying it. It gave me the heebee jeebies though, in a very Gone Girl/mind of a killer way. And hello that ending with the laughing and then "Dear old dad". Yikes! At the beginning the narrator is so relatable (if you have siblings), and towards the end he just continuously tells you shocking stories about past violent outbreaks. I'm curious as to what sort of diagnosis he had. Did anyone figure that out, or know enough about psychology to make an educated guess?

[acampbell24]

Yes...just finished this book. While I don't have any psychology background it seems that Paul suffered some significant anger management issues. I read a review online where he and his son were called "pseudo fascists" which seems pretty accurate. Anyone that stood in the way of Paul and his way of doing or seeing things was immediately considered dismissible and disposable. The way in which the conversation with Michel's headmaster quickly developed into a grudge match/blood sport...reeked of Paul's insecurity or inability to reflect upon his own actions.

I was a bit frustrated with the ending. The fact that Koch left out the incident at the cafe across the street and simply had Claire being carted away by police after grievously assaulting Serge , thus preventing him from withdrawing from the race and settling the issue as a "family"..left me hanging a bit.

It seemed that after the exchange prior to Claire's decision at the dinner table between Paul and CLaire...he had convinced her that if he was to participate in any 'intervention' it was too risky; thus she acted on her own. But on what pretence? Did she just walk in there and hit him with a wine glass?

The other theme I took from this book was the irremovable imprint, however small, all men have within them of their own fathers. However much we despise or admire the men that raised us, whether we like it or not, their is a piece of them in us whether we like it or not. There are times I have vowed never to speak or treat my kids the way my father spoke or treated myself, but find the tone of my voice or rationale behind my response frighteningly similar to my own father's motivations. I must admit , many of those motivations have come to make me the person I am today and am grateful for that. But the relationship between Paul and Michel, despite sometimes appearing distant or disconnected, still demonstrated a bond of based on emulation. The whole genetic predisposition...re the Amniocentesis ...not sure I buy that. Anger mgmt issues as far as I recall are not passed along via genes but more so via modelling and what kids observe and absorb. Whether there was an actual psychological diagnosis that Paul was provided with remains unseen.
Therefore the plot point re the genetic component seemed misguided. He was given leave due to inappropriate behaviour at work in the role of an educator. Sounded like he worked at a private school..in which teachers have much less power/influence/self advocacy rights regarding job performance than in public systems where the protection of a union makes it difficult to exercise discipline accordingly; at least in North America.

[devenrdougherty]

I recently read and was very disappointed with "The Dinner". The relationships between these characters are so stiff, every single one of them. It's like no one knew each other even though they are all members of the same family. I think the thing that I hated the most was the waiter in this story. Why does the author feel the need to refer to the waiter's pinky finger as it points to food described by the waiter. I almost never skim a book but anytime this pinky finger was mentioned, I found myself skimming and skipping ahead just to get away from it.
The crime committed in this story is so implausible. I just didn't like how it all went down so perfectly. This is supposed to be a story that could happen to real people but the writer makes it so far fetched it might as well come straight out of Harry Potter.
I do recommend this book.

-- 25 Jan 2016, 19:25 --

I'm sorry I accidentally posted this in classic books. I'm still learning!