The Dinner by Herman Koch

WOW. This book blew me away, and a big part of that is that I neither suspected nor anticipated the true story in this novel. Suffice it to say I will not be telling you much in this review, either, so as not to ruin it for you.

Two couples meet for dinner. The men are brothers, and one of them is a high-ranking politician. The other brother (whose perspective we share) is dreading this dinner - he'd rather grab a bite at the local cafe than go to this pretentious, trendy restaurant, he doesn't really like his brother much, the conversation will be intolerable. And while I thought the book was about that bad date or about class difference and culture trends, in reality it's much, much bigger. 

I got completely wrapped up - the novel is very well-written - and read the book in just a couple sittings. As the story spins out from dinner and them back again, I was confused and captivated by the characters: I'd find myself thinking, "Wait, what?" So then I'd have to read on. 

This would be stellar for a book discussion. I finished the book and just sat for a minute, absorbing. You'll want to talk about it!