The Dinner (Aperitif & Appetizer)

For our summative books I have chosen the novel “The Dinner”, by Herman Koch. The beginning of the book is quite long and detailed, so I have been reading everything with the utmost scrutiny assuming that there is some underlying importance, and possible foreshadowing to it all. Paul, the protagonist who is also the narrator, seems to be a very opinionated individual. He comments about everything and speaks obsessively on the idea of happiness. He quotes Tolstoy when he says, “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way” (Koch 6). Apparently, this is a very famous line of literature, and has its own statistical principle derived from it. What I believe the quote to mean is that every family creates its own unique personal hell's for each other, and that it takes a lot of effort to be a happy family. By quoting such a famous line, I think the idea of family dynamics will play an important role in this novel, and am expecting there to be some rebellion, most likely on Michel’s part.

Paul speaks of Serge in a disapproving light. Though Serge isn’t that civil a human, I feel there are some deeper issues between the two. With Serge being a politician and the older brother, I believe Paul tries to compensate for his lack of attention with snide remarks and criticisms. While waiting for his brother at the restaurant he says, “..there was another, not unimportant reason for me to sit facing the garden; it meant I could allow my brother’s entrance to go unseen” (Koch 29). If that is not the definition of petty, I am not sure what is.

Paul over analyzes every single thing to the point where it does become a bit of an annoyance [re:considering staging himself fainting to escape the dinner (Koch 18)], but he does appear to be a very introspective person. Concerning people who argue it is a waste of money to eat more ‘avant-garde’, where they can just prepare the food at home for cheap rather than pay for an almost non-existent meal, he says, “No, people like that don’t understand anything, not about food and not about restaurants” (Koch 25). This statement reminded me of an art video I recently watched. It explores the reason why we feel the need to undermine minimalist/abstract art, saying that we too could have produced such a piece, belittling all the efforts of the artist's creative process. Paul’s statement shows he sees beyond what is on the surface, and is quite contemplative.

Certain things Serge does also gives us more insight into his character. Paul describes him as eating very fast and says, “He would eat the way one fills the tank with gas: quickly and efficiently” (Koch 53). The rashness of his actions in doing something that is usually quite enjoyable (eating), suggests that Serge is impatient. There is a saying that one should “Enjoy the journey, not the destination”. Serge seems like the individual who would rather take the one-hour plane ride to Toronto, than have a jolly ol’ time road tripping with his buddies. He appears to be a very goal-oriented person, and not one to dawdle.

Not a lot has occurred in this first part, but I can feel the build up and am hoping for some juicy action. This book has a very unique writing style that I believe can be attributed due to the fact that it was translated from Dutch. It’s style is similar to the novel The Hundred Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, which was also originally Dutch. Both books are quite detailed, and a little tedious to read at times.

Works Cited

PBS Digital Studios, director. I Could Do That . Art Assignment , 20 Aug. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=67EKAIY43kg&feature=youtu.be.

Peterson, Christopher. “Positive Psychology and the Anna Karenina Principle." Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 27 Feb. 2012, www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-good-life/201202/positive-psychology-and- the-anna-karenina-principle.

RayTweets. “Thanksgiving Clapback .” Twitter, 2016.