Suit and Tie, Dressing-up for Dinner

It is interesting the variety of things people do before going out to dinner.  Some like to compare the hues of ties and shirts.  Some like to make the restaurant smell of their favorite cologne.  Some like to coordinate with others.  Some like to simply get out of their work attire.  And some like to forget all that and hop in the car.  Me, I stay away from the first three and fit somewhere between four and five.  People also prepare for books differently. There are those who make sure they know nothing except the title before consumption.  There are those who feel the urgent need to eat dessert, also known as the last page or chapter first. There are those who read the reviews and look up the author like smelling wine before tasting it. And there are those who jump in and don't care about how much or how little they know already, similar to eene-meene-miney-moing a menu.  I am one of the final people, I like to have a general idea but don't want to spoil some of the fun.  At this point I know what I learned from blurbs and reviews that I read while selecting The Dinner, but that is about it.



If you are one of the first types of readers skip the next paragraph.

What I know, or think I know, is that two couples go out to dinner together in Amsterdam.  However, their sons, one each, did something in conflict with the law.  The dinner starts out with the usual pleasantries but begins to sour as the courses come. I have little clue of what the actual structure of this novel is going to be, whether we will be an observer of the table, whether we'll be one of the patrons, or whether the novel will send us through a series or one single flashback.  Part of the reason I chose The Dinner is because it presented itself as an opportunity for a different flavor of novelic structure.  And in case you are one of the third types of readers here are some things I have not read/watched: from The New York Times, from NPR, from LitLovers, and if your really into preparing, the movie.

All in all I am excited to see what will develop in The Dinner.  I also hope to skewer as many of the devices as I can, and of course do them justice throughout my future posts.  The scent wafting from the kitchen smells exotic. "Oh waiter! I'd like to place my order for a luxurious Dinner of potatoes, fine wine and crime, please."