Book clubs are going to revel in the dialogue this novel will inspire. It's been touted as the Dutch version of 'The Slap' but in my opinion there are few similarities besides a random event being the central element of the story. In 'The Dinner' this event is far more sinister then 'a slap' and is the reason brothers Paul and Serge Lohman meet one evening along with their wives for dinner at a top class restaurant. For it is their own teenage sons who have been involved in a disturbing incident following an evening out. But this book is more about the parents than the kids, and over the course of the meal, which seems to go forever, their true natures are revealed. I enjoyed this book but that is not to say that there are elements that I didn't find irritating and actually at times ridiculous. However don't let this put you off as our unhinged narrator Paul is entertainment plus and his criticisms of the ludicrously overpriced restaurant and his cynical attitude towards the middle classes (and pretty much everything) are highly amusing.
