Summary of The Dinner
The novel “The Dinner” follows two couples – two brothers and their wives – who meet for a five-course dinner at a fancy restaurant in Amsterdam to discuss how to handle a terrible crime committed by their 15-year-old sons. As the dinner and the novel progress, the nature of the crime is gradually revealed. While one father seeks to extract a confession from the boys, partly to safeguard his own career, the other parents believe that keeping their children’s involvement in the crime hidden is the best way to protect them.
Reasons to read The DinnerÂ
“The Dinner” is an intriguing story that delves into themes of parenthood, overprotectiveness, rivalry between siblings, and selfishness. The novel is structured around the courses of a dinner at an expensive restaurant in Amsterdam and seems to satirise the elitism of such establishments. “The Dinner” became an international bestseller, translated into 33 languages, and won the NS Publieksprijs in 2009. It was adapted for film no fewer than four times. Other notable works by Herman Koch include “Summer House with Swimming Pool” and “Dear Mr. M”.
Setting: Amsterdam (the Netherlands)
Original title: Het diner
Year of publication: 2009
Nr of pages: 320
