A riveting, beautifully written, and poignant coming-of-age story about the heartrending complications of sibling relationships and the trauma of family secrets, perfect for fans of Kate Atkinson, Maggie O’Farrell, and Anne Enright.Kate has taught herself to be careful, to be meticulous.To mark the anniversary of a death in the family, she plans a dinner party - from the fancy table settings to the perfect Baked Alaska waiting in the freezer. Yet by the end of the night, old tensions have flared, the guests have fled, and Kate is spinning out of control.But all we have is ourselves, her father once said, all we have is family.Set between the 1990s and the present day, from a farmhouse in Carlow to Trinity College, Dublin, Dinner Party is a dark, sharply observed debut told with sharp, elegant humour that thrillingly unravels into family secrets and tragedy.
I had a hard time maintaining interest in this novel. It started out great with a chapter about Kate and her twin Eileen in the 1990s before Eileen passed away. The story then shifted to the present with the dinner that Kate hosted in Eileen's memory.
The characters were dull. I felt no attachment to any of them. Kate's mother could have been a wonderful villain. Mom was self-centered and was constantly criticizing her kids. While she gave them the best she could afford, Mom was physically and emotionally abusive.
The story is told from Kate's perspective. The reader slowly understands that she has an eating disorder. If this would be a trigger for you then you will want to avoid Dinner Party. The plot premise is a good one and if the book was written entirely in the present it could have been fantastic. It's slow pace is not helpful for the reader either.
Dinner Party was a miss for me. I am rating it 2 out of 5 stars.
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