The Dinner  (English, Paperback, Koch Herman)

The Dinner is a story about two couples who will do whatever they can in their power to protect their sons who have together committed a crime that has been caught on camera.

Summary of the Book

On a summer evening in Amsterdam, two couples decide to meet for dinner at a fancy restaurant. They are polishing off the food on their plate with the fine cutlery, and the only conversations that take place between them are small, polite exchanges about work and holidays. They are trying to hide a terrible conflict between them by forcing a smile and eating their meal. Each couple has a fifteen-year-old son and both boys have joined hands and committed a horrible crime. This act of theirs has been caught on camera and there are people trying to find out their identities through the grainy images that have been shown on TV. The police is after them and are on a manhunt, but only the parents know who the boys in these images are. Soon, dinner is about to finish and the parents have started to touch the topic of their children. At this point, the politeness and friendship takes a backseat. Each couple is about to show exactly how far they are willing to go to protect their child. 

About Herman Koch

Herman Koch is known as a television producer and a writer. His book, Het Diner, was a major hit in the Netherlands and was published in 17 countries. The book was partly based on a true story involving a homeless woman in Barcelona.