I accidentally read this book, having confused it with The Dinner by Herman Koch who is also a Dutch author. It was only after finishing The Dinner Party that I noticed it was published just a few months ago and the other was a book I’d been meaning to read for years. Oh well.
The Dinner Party opens with this paragraph:“Stella says I should write a letter. It can be addressed to her, or to no one in particular, or perhaps to a friend. Someone I trust. Do I have anyone like that?”
We learn that Stella is Franca’s therapist who has Franca write down her thoughts in the form of a letter to aid in recovering her memories of a traumatic dinner party a year ago and something to do with a knife. There are many flashbacks and flash forwards that can be confusing.
Franca is a troubled young woman whose fiancé, the seemingly perfect Andrew, has informed her that he is hosting a dinner party at their home for some of his colleagues. She is expected to prepare a special meal for them and he suggests rabbit. She is less than enthusiastic but sets about shopping for food and drinks for the guests. There are many visceral descriptions of rabbit carcasses and violent acts committed on the kitten Andrew has brought home that leave us questioning what is real.
The guests are mostly obnoxious men. Unexpectedly Franca’s platonic friend, Harry, who she has not seen in a very long time is brought as a plus one by one of the other guests. Before, during and after dinner copious amounts of alcohol are consumed and the party goes from bad to worse.
This is a novel about suppressed female rage with a surprise twist at the end. It held my interest despite some nauseatingly disturbing descriptions and a cast of mostly despicable characters.
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