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The Dinner

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The Dinner

By: Herman Koch
Narrated by: Clive Mantle
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About this listen

Shortlisted for: International Author of the Year – Specsavers National Book Awards 2012

A summer's evening in Amsterdam and two couples meet at a fashionable restaurant. 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 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, and as civility and friendship disintegrates, each couple show just how far they are prepared to go to protect those they love.

©2009 Herman Koch (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Family Life Genre Fiction

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All stars
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This was a really good read (listen, I guess!). It took a bit of time to grow on me, but I became completey wrapped up in it.
There's some uncomfortable subject matter and the characters are tricksy... The main narrator character I waxed and waned over- going from irritation to appreciation to disgust to... not exactly approval, but an acknowledgement that this is a man rendered by the author very much in three dimensions. Very believable.

surprising

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The horror comes from all the inference required from the reader (listener.) Very subtle. You have to pay attention as the delivery of all the shocking details is so matter of fact.

Spooky story!

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I guess this is what is known as black humour. The restaurant scenes took me to the belly laughter stage, but the underlying darkness also kept my wits on edge. I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook and even though it took on a somewhat surreal twist towards the end, it still gripped me. I also thought the narrator did a great job. One of the most enjoyable 'reads' in ages.

Enthralling, a rollercoaster of emotions

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previous reviews almost stopped me from purchasing .but I loved it and narration was excellent

I immediately bought another book by Herman koch

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This took me 2 days to start and finish. Utterly compelling. Fantastic narrator. Disturbing characters. I'm a sucker for a story that looks beneath a brittle exterior of normality that exposes a rotten core. Listen to this book.

Addictive book.

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Great book and great performance of the narrator. Quite unexpected plot turns and ending. The book is looking into a question of what would you do as a parent to protect your child even if your child is wrong. The description of the characters is perfect and the story is engaging.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys good reads/listens and likes the interpersonal relationships stories.

Thought provoking book

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I really enjoyed this book.

It kept on surprising me right to the end.

I liked the way he started the book and then gave small pieces of information about the characters so that your perceptions were always changing.

Superb

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I couldn't stop listening but it still felt very boring. The main character wasn't likeable and I felt like the story was dull, I felt like I was waiting for action the whole way through.

Still confused over whether I enjoyed it or not...

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Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. It's a good story idea however none of the characters grabbed in a real sense. Didn't feel much of the plot was plausible.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The action takes place in an extremely expensive public restaurant and this seemed to be implausible for what was discussed. I did not like or feel connected with any of the characters.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Clive Mantle?

Yes, the author was good.

Any additional comments?

It's not a book I would recommend as a must read. I obtained as a multi deal members offer, it was enjoyable enough on that basis. Didn't leave any lasting impressions.

Dysfunctional middle class family read

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What made the experience of listening to The Dinner the most enjoyable?

The narrator's reading is so lively and naturally that I have read the book twice while listening to the narrator, Clive Mantle. Great compliment to them both: the writer as well as the narrator.

EXCELLENT

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