Quick Book Review: The Dinner by Herman Koch

This is a book by a Dutch writer that I, being Dutch myself, have read before (in Dutch). Now that the book has become quite popular (or: well-known) outside The Netherlands, I decided to re-read it. Last time (a few years ago), I enjoyed reading the book. This time around… I loved it!

Two couples, the men are brothers, meet for dinner in a posh restaurant in Amsterdam. One of the brothers is a well-known politician, while the other, the narrator, has always stood in his shadow. They need to discuss their two 15-year old sons, who have committed a crime that could have consequences for all of them. The story is told in courses and develops into a very unexpected ending.

This started really well, as I found the observations of the narrator, Paul Lohman, very to the point and funny. For a while, he and I got along really well, until he developed in a man that I could not identify with at all. Paul describes what happens in the restaurant but also looks back on the weeks before the dinner, and further back in time, when Paul and his brother Serge were children.

The way Paul talked about his brother was so poignant: his brother was the important man, the politician who looked down on his brother. But that was nothing new, it was always like that. Paul was bitter about that, but also felt superior in some ways. He had a lot of great comments on the very expensive restaurant where his brother, prime minister to be, managed to reserve a table at short notice, rather than be put on the 5-month long waiting list like other people.

But of course, this book is really about the crime that Paul and Serge’s sons have committed and how they, the parents, are planning to deal with it. They disagree and eventually the evening escalates into something that went rather too far for me, as a solution to the conflict. That was my only negative point about the book.

In all other respects this was a fantastic book to read and a good novel for book clubs, as there is a lot that can be discussed.

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Rating: 5/5

Number of pages: 304

First published: 2010 (Netherlands)

I got this book: gifted (Dutch version: Het diner)

Genre: contemporary fiction

Have you read this book?

Did you enjoy it?

Dystopia for Adults – A Reading List (Updated)

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Three years ago, I took part in a Dystopia reading challenge and posted a list of Dystopian books for adults. There are many, many dystopia books for YA readers, but dystopian novels that are primarily for adults, are often harder to find: dystopian books with an adult protagonist. This list has been one of the most popular posts on my blog, and it’s time for an update.

What is Dystopia?

A dystopia is a society after some great disaster or change has taken place (post-apocalyptic), life is not as easy as it was. The main character in a dystopian story generally does not accept society as easily as most other people do and joins up with like-minded people to try and change their situation.

Creating a Reading List

For my 3-year blogoversary I asked my readers to suggest new dystopian books that weren’t on the original list and they were very helpful! Here is the updated list – a list that will keep growing, I hope.

So here it is: a list with Dystopian books that have adult protagonists. Do you know any others? Let me know and I’ll add them to the list. I’ll include post-apocalyptic novels that aren’t necessarily classified as dystopian but will be of interest to dystopia readers.

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1. White Horse by Alex Adams
2. Feed by M. T. Anderson
3. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
4. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
5. The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
6. The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

7. The Drowned World

   by J.G. Ballard

8. Nod by Adrian Barnes
9. City of Bohane by Kevin Barry
10. Jennifer Government by Max Barry
11. Mountain Man by Keith Blackmore
12. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
13. The Postman by David Brin
14. The Sheep Look Up by David Brin
15. Armageddon’s Children by Terry Brooks
16. The End of This Day’s Business by Katharine Burdekin
17. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
18. The Wanting Seed by Anthony Burgess
19. Veracity by Laura Bynum
20. The Death of Grass by John Christopher
21. The Passage by Justin Cronin
22. The Twelve by Justin Cronin
23. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
24.  Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
25. Alas Babylon by Pat Frank
26. The Carhullan Army by Sarah Hall
27. The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway
28. Into the Forest by June Hegland
29. The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
30. The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist
31. The Possibility of an Island by Michel Houellebecq
32. Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban
33. Wool by Hugh Howey
34. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
35. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
36. This Dark Earth by John Hornor Jacobs
37. The Children of Men by P. D. James
38. When She Woke by Hillary Jordan
39. The Trial by Franz Kafka
40. In a Perfect World, by Laura Kasischke
41. The Stand by Stephen King
42. Always Coming Home by Ursula LeGuin
43. Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin
44. The First Century After Beatrice by Amin Maalouf
45. I am Legend by Richard Matheson
46. Swan Song by Robert McCammon
47. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
48. A Creed for the Third Millennium by Colleen McCollough
49. I Have Waited and You Have Come by Martine McDonagh
50. Malevile by Robert Merle
51. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
52. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
53. V for Vendetta by Alan Moore
54. 1Q84 by  Haruki Murakami
55. Bend Sinister by Vladimir Nabokov
56. Sulphuric Acid by Amelie Nothomb

57. The Suicide Collectors by David Oppegaard

58. 1984 by George Orwell
59.  A Dream of Wessex by Christopher Priest
60. Anthem by Ayn Rand
61. Atlas shrugged of Ayn Rand
62. The Beyond series by Kit Rocha
63. Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
64. Blindness by Jose Saramago
65. Seeing by Jose Saramago
66. On the Beach by Nevil Shute
67. The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
68. Earth Abides by George R Stewart
69. Dies the Fire by S. M. Stirling
70. The Domination by S. M. Stirling
71. A Voyage to Kazohinia by Sandor Szathmari
72. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
73. Far North by Marcel Theroux
74. The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks
75. The Sleeper Awakes by H.G. Wells
76. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
77. Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd Century America by Robert Charles Wilson
78. The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe
79. A Gift Upon the Shore by MK Wren
80. The Crysalids by John Wyndham
81. Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
82. We by Yvengy Zamyatin
83. Corpus delicti by Juli Zeh

Do you know any Dystopian books where the main character is an adult? Let me know!

Book Review: Amity & Sorrow by Peggy Riley

Amity & Sorrow: What it is about

From the publishers: “A mother and her daughters drive for days without sleep until they crash their car in rural Oklahoma. The mother, Amaranth, is desperate to get away from someone she’s convinced will follow them wherever they go–her husband. The girls, Amity and Sorrow, can’t imagine what the world holds outside their father’s polygamous compound.

Rescue comes in the unlikely form of Bradley, a farmer grieving the loss of his wife. At first unwelcoming to these strange, prayerful women, Bradley’s abiding tolerance gets the best of him, and they become a new kind of family. An unforgettable story of belief and redemption, Amity & Sorrow is about the influence of community and learning to stand on your own.”

Amity & Sorrow: What I thought

In this book, we follow a mother and her two daughters for a few months, after they have left the religious commune where the girls have lived all their life. They are on the run for their father, their mother’s husband, who has a total of fifty wives and many children living with him.

Amity and Sorrow only know life in the commune and are totally ignorant about the world outside. They believe their father is God and are not at all happy that their mother took them away.

Bit by bit, the reader finds out the full story about the commune and the reason the mother left. Bradley, the farmer who is not happy to find them on their doorstep, slowly defrosts into a supportive person.

I really enjoyed reading this. The story is told in a kind of simple, sparse narrative that tells the reader enough to follow the story, but also makes curious as to the full story. Not only do you want to know what exactly happened in the commune, but also what will happen to the three of them next. Will the husband find them? Will they stay at the farm, even though Bradley doesn’t want them? Will the girls flee back home without their mother?

A well-set out story that reminded me a little of The First Book of Calamity Leek (Paula Lichtarowicz) because of the naïvity of the girls, and of Dirt (David Vann) because of the rural setting and the painful family relationships.

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Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Number of pages: 320

First published: 2013

I got this: from the publishers, Hachette Books via Netgalley (e-galley)

Genre: contemporary fiction

Weekly Reading Roundup

*****

The week

The second unfortunate week in a row. Last week, we didn’t go on holiday, this week, first my mother breaks her hip, then my husband has a car crash (he’s fine, our (only) car is not), as a result of which I had to 1) visit my mother, and 2) do this by train. On Sunday, I first went past her house (by train) to pick up some things and then on to the convalescence home (by train), which took forever. But hey, I’m still smiling!

This week, the kids go back to school after 10 days off. I don’t have anything planned in particular but I suspect that the car and/or my mother will keep me busy!

*****

Books I finished in the last week: 2

My Soul to Take by Yrsa Sigurdardottir. A brilliant mystery taking place in Iceland. 5 stars

Stern by Thomas Heerma van Voss [Dutch]. A school teacher is made redundant and thinks back on his relationships with friends, family and his pupils. 4.5 stars

Books I’m reading

I only finished 2 books last week, but I’m reading all 4 books mentioned here! One I read now and then, one is my “current” read, one is a non-fiction book of which I read a chapter a day, and the final book is thin enough to fit in my handbag.  

Reviews

Click on the blue links to see my review

The Wish List by Jane Costello. A woman who is about to turn 30 rediscovers a wishlist she made at 15. She tries to tick off the items on the list. Chick-lit. 4,5 stars

The Travel Auction by Mark Green. When a man and his girlfriend split up, he advertises for someone with her name to take her place in a trip to South America (as he already got the tickets). Chick-lit/Lad-lit. 4,5 stars.

Een stil vertrek [A Quiet Departure] by Annette Zeelenberg. A Dutch woman suddenly leaves her home in the Netherlands and moves to a job in the USA. But she can’t shake off her past. 4 stars

*****

And further…

Check out my April overview. Yes, I read a lot!

*****

That’s it!

What are you reading this week?

Book Review: The Travel Auction by Mark Green

The Travel Auction: What it is about

Book description: “It should have been their trip of a lifetime. But with just days to go, Jonathan Cork finds himself dumped by his girlfriend, Kate Thornly. Even worse, a life-threatening allergy means he can’t travel alone. Unable to change the name on the spare ticket and fast running out of time, Jonathan resorts to desperate measures. He advertises on eBay for a travel companion with the same name as his ex. The problem is, it’s a complete lottery who he’ll end up with.

Kate Thornly (the second) is aware of the unusual eBay auction, but she can’t be persuaded to bid. Enter Maria, her best friend, who secretly applies on her behalf! With her nursing credentials and erotic photo, Kate seems the perfect travel companion. But there’s just one small detail Maria’s conveniently left off Kate’s bid…

What follows is a funny, page-turning, rollercoaster ride around South America.”

The Travel Auction: What I thought

I loved the description of the book and it was as much fun as I’d hoped. The book is a kind of lad-lit / chick-lit, an easy read which is both funny and serious at times.

When Kate doesn’t turn out to be what Jonathan expected, his first reaction is to walk off. While this is not a very polite nor adult way of dealing with the situation, it is certainly believable. And there are many more situations in the story that I found very likely to happen – a good insight from the author. While there were also some unlikely issues, to start with, finding a “new” Kate Thornly on eBay, really?, most of the book was in the realm of the possible.

The book is told alternately from Jonathan and Kate’s perspective. I didn’t like Jonathan a lot. He is rather business-like, sees his trip as something he booked, so he feels he has to go, but his heart doesn’t seem into it. He hasn’t thought out what it will be like to travel with a new, unknown companion. Kate is more likeable, she’s quite independent and and knows how to handle Jonathan, which was fun to see.

I wasn’t sure what to expect – after the initial eBay auction, when Jonathan and Kate have met and are on their way, how could this story still be interesting? But it was. Things happen on the way that made me want to keep reading. At times, I had a good idea of the (South-American) surroundings, but this definitely wasn’t a travel guide, and the story about Jonathan and Kate took first position, which some of the scenery being described as and when it fitted in the story.

For me, a novel is often interesting whenever both protagonists get the chance to tell their side of the story. This is also true for The Travel Auction. Jonathan writes about Kate, making assumptions, while Kate looks at things very differently. I love that!

In all, a fun and easy-going read about two very different people that learn to travel together and have a good time with it. Not too good a time, of course, otherwise the book would be rather predictable and boring. Which it isn’t.

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Number of pages: 293

First published: 2012

I got this: from the author for review

Genre: contemporary fiction

Book Review: The Wish List by Jane Costello

The Wish List: What it is about

What the publishers say: “There are six months left of Emma Reiss’s twenties. . . and she has some unfinished business.

Emma and her friends are about to turn thirty, and for Emma it’s a defining moment. Defined, that is, by her having achieved none of the things she’d imagined she would.
Her career is all wrong, her love life is a desert and that penthouse apartment she pictured herself in simply never materialised. Moreover, she’s never jumped out of a plane, hasn’t met the man she’s going to marry, has never slept under the stars, or snogged anyone famous – just some of the aspirations on a list she and her friends compiled fifteen years ago.

As an endless round of birthday parties sees Emma hurtle towards her own thirtieth, she sets about addressing these issues. But, as she discovers with hilarious consequences, some of them are trickier to tick off than she’d thought…“

The Wish List: What I thought

This was a great chick-lit that I enjoyed reading. It was an unsolicited review book from Simon & Schuster and somehow they always arrive at a convenient time. I was about to make a long car journey, and this kind of book is ideal (given that I wasn’t driving, that is). It’s an easy read and the story isn’t too complex to follow – so I can still keep half an eye on the navigation system (my husband usually ignores it and relies on me to repeat what Tammy (as we call her) just said).

In this book, the focus wasn’t rigidly on Emma’s wish list. That way, the book didn’t follow a particular scheme in which one item is highlighted and ticked off, followed by the next one, etc. That can get rather cumbersome after a while. In contrast, in The Wish List, the items on the list almost happen to be tackled. Sometimes Emma takes special actions to work on the wish (e.g., she asks her ex-boyfriend for guitar lessons) while on other occasions she is aided by friends, rather casually (e.g., “Didn’t you say you wanted to do X? Well, a friend of mine…”). And so, before you know it, you reach the end of the story and the end of the wish list.

Emma was a reasonably normal person (not empty-headed like you sometimes see in chick-lit). She does quite funny things, sometimes, e.g., she tries to make sure someone doesn’t spot her, but what she does has the effect that she is spotted after all, but then in some compromising situation that would not have happened if she hadn’t tried to hide. That sort of thing. Sometimes hilarious, but never over the top.

It is very fluently written and an easy read. To me, this is a very good chic-lit, à la the better books of Sophie Kinsella. Certainly worth a read if you’re a fan of this genre.

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Number of pages: 484

First published: 2013

I got this: for review from the publishers, Simon & Schuster UK

Genre: contemporary fiction, chick-lit

April Overview

In April, I read 14 books and abandoned another one. Most of the books got 4-5 stars, so this was a good month. I took part in the 24 hour readathon, which was good fun (I read 2 and-a-bit books). I didn’t go on my holiday, which was bad.

This month was also my 3-year blogoversary! I celebrated with a giveaway. Oh, that reminds me… I asked people for books to add to my list of dystopian books for adults. I will update this list very soon and republish it.

Books that stood out:

I had three 5-stars books and two 4.5 stars. That is really good. I loved My Soul to Take, a mystery taking place in Iceland. Schroder, about a father abducting his daughter was good as well, and Amity & Sorrow, was – in a way – about a mother abducting her daughters. A very special read, too.

This is what I read

Click on the blue links to go to the review (as you can see, I still need to post a few reviews!).

My Soul to Take by Yrsa Sigurdardottir. Murder in Iceland. Brilliantly told. 5 stars

Schroder by Amity Gaige. A divorced man wants to see more of his little daughter and takes her on an unscheduled holiday, after which he is wanted for kidnapping. 5 stars

Amity & Sorrow by Peggy Riley. A mother and her two daughters escape from a cult and end up at the farm of a man who does not want them there. 5 stars

The Wish List by Jane Costello. A woman who is about to turn 30 rediscovers a wishlist she made at 15. She tries to tick off the items on the list. Chick-lit. 4,5 stars

The Travel Auction by Mark Green. When a man and his girlfriend split up, he advertises for someone with her name to take her place in a trip to South America (as he already got the tickets). Chick-lit/Lad-lit. 4,5 stars.

The River of No Return by Bee Ridgway. Time travel story in which time plays an important role. Most of the story takes place in 1815. Great ideas, but the ending was a little sudden. 4 stars

The Pearl Savage by Tamara Rose Blodgett. Post-apocalyptic novel about a princess living in a dome who is targeted by savages living outside. 3.5 stars

Pieces of Light by Charles Fernyhough. Non-fiction about new research into how memory works. Interesting, but too many personal details for me. Did not finish.

***

Dutch blog:

Dieptepunt [Low Point] by Maria Rijk. Thriller about a woman who is attacked by another woman and then tries to find out why. 4.5 stars

De lijst van al mijn wensen [My Wishlist] by Grégoire Delacourt. A French middle-aged woman wins a lot of money in the lottery. But she doesn’t really know what she wants to do with it. 4.5 stars

IJsland [Iceland] by Ronald Giphart. A comedian is making a trip to Iceland with his theatre group, leaving his wife and son at home. He thinks about them a lot. 4.5 stars

Broer [Brother] by Maurits de Bruijn. Fictional account of real-life story. The brother of a young man has been missing for 10 years. The man travels to different countries to find him, but really himself. 4 stars

Nacht in Noorwegen [Norwegian by Night] by Derek B. Miller. An 82-year old American man has moved in with his granddaughter in Norway and becomes the witness of a crime. He escapes with a little boy. 4 stars

Een goed excuus [A Thousand Pardons]by Jonathan Dee. A couple divorces and the woman, who hasn’t worked for years, unexpectedly finds herself successful at a job, while the husband gets into real trouble. 4 stars

Vrij spel [Free Game] by Carlijn Vis. Historical novel about a woman who fled the Netherlands in WWII and her adventures in order to get to England. 4 stars

Reviews of books I read before April

***

Flamenco Baby by Cherry Radford (DNF). An English woman takes flamenco lessons in Spain and falls in love. DNF

Love Water Memory by Jennie Shortridge. A woman loses her memory and her fiancé picks her up from the hospital. Not a thriller but a good story on how they try to get their relationship started again. 4.5 stars

There Was an Old Woman by Hallie Ephron. Thriller about an old woman who is let to believe she has to go into a care home. 4,5 stars

Harlequin’s Costume by Leonid Yuzefovich. Harlequin’s Costume by Leonid Yozefovich. A Russian detective in the 1870s has to find the murderer of a Austrian diplomat. 4 stars.

The Lens and the Looker by Lory S. Kaufman. YA Science fiction, time travel. 4 stars.

Starters by Lissa Price. YA Science fiction. After a virus attack, only young and very old people are left. The elders want to use the young bodies for themselves via a mechanism that let them live in the body. Of course, this has to be stopped. 4 stars.

 

Dutch Blog:

Het diner [The Dinner] by Herman Koch. I’ll post an English review of this book on my blog in the next few weeks. 5 stars

De wezenlozen [The Vacant Ones] by Wytske Versteeg [Dutch]. Contemporary fiction about a family in which one of the twin girls hasn’t talked since she was six years old. 3.5 stars

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What was YOUR favorite book in April?