Published on: February 12 2013
By: Crown Publishing Group
Number of pages: 292
Reading attempt: 1
Reading time: 2 ½ days
Rating: ««« ½
Advice: Not one to read lightly
Also available in French as: Le Dîner
The context
The first
time I heard about this novel was when I was browsing through a French book brochure. I have to admit that at
first, I did not think much about it.
A couple of
months later, I received an email notice from a bookstore mentioning this book
and how they were highly recommending it.
Reading their synopsis, I got intrigued and decided to give it a
try. After all, who would not be intrigued
by a novel that poses this statement:
What would you be willing to do
to save the ones you love?
The story
Divided
into the five parts of a dinner, the novel starts by slowly telling the story
of two brothers and their wives having dinner in a hip and chic restaurant in
the Netherlands. Based on this premise,
the narrative, given here by one of the brothers (Paul), seems quite simple if
not common.
Until, the
dinner reaches its climax and we learn the true reason behind this family
reunion: the sons of brothers Paul and Serge have committed what Minny in “The
Help” would qualify as a “terrible awful”.
As the extent and consequences of this “terrible awful” are revealed, the parents argue on
how they should react and how to deal with this matter, even if it
means going against all moral principals ... even the law.
The review
The book
format plays here a good part in my appraisal of it. Paul’s first-person narrative is easily readable
and intelligent. Moreover, Paul’s
monologue is brutally honest in the description he makes of his son’s and
nephew’s terrible act but also of who he is as an individual and how he might inadvertently
have influenced this act.
Another
good point in its favor (and also the main reason why this is not a book you
should read lightly) is that the author’s aim here is not the obvious moral and
ethic response we would have at first expected.
The author is here shocking, if not provoking, in the lack of moral compass
his characters depict, through their lies and deceits. The solutions they envision to settle the “terrible
awful” here lack even the basic legal ethic:
·
solving
violence with violence,
·
taking
the matter into their own hands
·
or
even setting the matter aside completely.
Moreover,
the author portrays here through the behavior of his characters, just how
normal these potential solutions are to them as they truly consider each and
every one of them.
As you go
through an array of emotions that span from disbelief and lack of understanding
to anger and rage at the injustice that is openly displayed, it becomes
impossible to put the book down for good and leave the story unfinished. In fact, you feel quite compelled to return
to its pages in order to discover what the final outcome will be or how the
whole matter will unravel.
Because
even though this novel is frightening, shocking, provoking and even disturbing
in its depiction of the immorality some people may show towards the legal and ethic system in place, we can’t keep away from asking ourselves
just how far we would be willing to go to protect the people that are dearest to us.
Whether you
will read this book and experience pleasure or disgust is entirely up to you. The only sure thing is that it is
bound to leave a lasting feeling on anyone who reads it.
As always,
keep reading all of you bookworms and book lovers out there. Until next time J
Ladybug
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