The DINNER ~ Herman KOCH. Translated by Sam Garrett sc 2012 HERE in MELB

Description: Translated by Sam GarrettA summer's evening in Amsterdam and two couples meet at a fashionable restaurant. Between mouthfuls of food and over the delicate scraping of cutlery, the conversation remains a gentle hum of politeness - the banality of work, the triviality of holidays. But the empty words hide a terrible conflict and, with every forced smile and every new course, the knives are being sharpened...Each couple has a fifteen-year-old son. Together, the boys have committed a horrifying act, caught on camera, and their grainy images have been beamed into living rooms across the nation; despite a police manhunt, the boys remain unidentified - by everyone except their parents. As the dinner reaches its culinary climax, the conversation finally touches on their children and, as civility and friendship disintegrate, each couple shows just how far they are prepared to go to protect those they love. An internationally bestselling phenomenon: the darkly suspenseful, highly controversial tale of two families struggling 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 polite scrapings of cutlery, the conversation remains a gentle hum of polite discourse - the banality of work, the triviality of the holidays. 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 a police investigation and shattered the comfortable, insulated worlds of their families. As the dinner reaches its culinary climax, the conversation finally touches on their children. As civility and friendship disintegrate, each couple show just how far they are prepared to go to protect those they love. 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. Shortlisted for Specsavers National Book Awards: International Author of the Year 2012. About the AuthorHerman Koch, born in 1953, is a Dutch writer. He was a renowned television actor on the series Jiskefet and a former columnist for the newspaper Volkskrant. The Dinner is his sixth novel and has already won the prestigious Publieksprijs Prize in 2009. Herman Koch currently lives in Amsterdam. Very Interesting read!Reviews"A European 'Gone Girl'." -- The Wall Street Journal"[Koch] has created a clever, dark confection... absorbing and highly readable." - New York Times Book Review "Tongue-in-cheek page-turner." - The Washington Post "The best part about "The Dinner" was this tension taking place above the plates. As the meal wore on, I realized I couldn't get up from the table." - Rosecrans Baldwin, NPR "Poised to shake up American publishing...Koch tells a story that could very well take away your appetite." - USA Today "[A] deliciously Mr. Ripley-esque drama." - O, The Oprah Magazine "You'll eat it up, with some fava beans and a nice Chianti." - Entertainment Weekly "Koch's ability to toy with the reader's alliances while using one family's distress to consider greater societal ills gives the novel a vital punch." - Daily Beast ""Every detail...manage[s] to catch our attention when Herman Koch uses them to develop his curious characters and bring us into the dark and thought-provoking plot." - Seattle Post Intelligencer BOOKLIST REVIEW … Already a runaway hit throughout Europe, boasting more than a million copies sold, Koch’s sixth novel arrives stateside, giving readers here a chance to mull over some rather meaty moral quandaries. But not so fast. First, Koch has a few false paths to lead us down. The story starts off casually and unassumingly with a dinner between two brothers, one running for prime minister of the Netherlands, along with their wives at one of Amsterdam’s finest establishments. The other brother, as narrator, sharply ridicules every absurd element of the night to great effect. But just as everything settles in, Koch pivots, and these pointed laughs quickly turn to discussion about their teenage boys and something they’ve done. And it’s at this point when readers will feel two distinct ideologies forming and will face the novel’s vital question: which position to side with? Koch’s organic style makes for a continuously engaging read that, if anything, leaves readers wanting more. Another 100 pages or so exploring these issues further would have been more than welcome, but what is here will no doubt stir some heady debates.FOOD for DISTURBING THOUGHT … Hated everything about this book - except the writing, which is gripping. I actually called it "immoral", because the author brings no judgement on characters who are faced with a major crisis and orchestrate a mind numbing conclusion. But after my book club's discussion, I thought it just might be brilliant. This is no beach read. It forced us to think and discuss, judge and challenge our convictions. I'm not sure we came away sure of our own conclusions. Not a comfortable read, but one that resonates.Marvellous Reading! WHY do ebayers buy from US?Because you KNOW what you're getting. My close up photos are of the actual item & form part of my description!! 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