Dinner is served

The dinner is a book by the Dutch author and cabaret performer Herman Koch. He is well known in the Netherlands and maybe also in Belgium for his cabaret, both on television and in theater. Besides that he has written a number of bestselling books, of which The dinner is just translated in English. And apparently, it is doing very well. It received several positive reviews in American newspapers (NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/07/books/the-dinner-by-herman-koch.html?_r=0).

I’m not a huge fan of Dutch authors. I don’t know why, but maybe it has to do with the fact that I hardly read anything in Dutch these days, except for the free newspaper in the morning. But my Dear Hubby had read the book and really liked it. So on the boot to York, with nothing else to do, I read about the dinner party from hell.

I won’t say this often, but Dear Hubby was right: it is a very good book. It starts just as a regular dinner between two brothers and their wives. One of the brothers –Paul – Is not very enthusiastic about it. He despises his brother Serge. You can tell that the relationship between the two brothers isn’t very good. Paul dislikes everything Serge stands for. Maybe because in some way Serge is socially more successful than his brother. Paul is a History teacher, who is on a temporary leave (for over seven years or something like that) and Serge is about to become prime minister. The restaurant is also picked by Serge – ‘they know me there’ – and Paul really dislikes the place; from the way it is fitted to the explicit behaviour of the headwaiter, who points at everything with his little finger while explaining what (little) is on the plate.

The reason the two couples are together is their children. Both have a fifteen year old son, while Serge and his wife also have a daughter and an adopted son Beau. The boys were up to no good and did something that could really devastate Serge’s career.

Without anything giving away – I will try not to spoil anything, just read the book yourself – the story develops around the interaction between these two couples, the way they view life and the different ways they raise their children. Was their action really so bad that it should ruin their lives or can we just keep in quiet. In the end nothing is like it seemed at the beginning of the book.

I do have to say, maybe this book is only as good as it is if you know Dutch society. If you’re familiar with our ways of life and the way we view politics and family life. If not, this is still a good read and a nice, sober-minded look on Dutch society. Or as Fantastic Fiction would say: “Tautly written, incredibly gripping, and told by an unforgettable narrator, The Dinner promises to be the topic of countless dinner party debates. 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.” (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/k/herman-koch/dinner.htm)

All I can say is: “honey, dinner is served…”