45 pages • 1 hour read
Herman KochThe Dinner
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2009A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
One of the defining aspects of the novel is Paul’s role as an unreliable narrator. How does Paul’s manner of storytelling affect the themes of the novel?
Structured in accordance with a set menu, the novel follows the pattern of a meal in a restaurant. How does this structure influence the steady reveal of information throughout the narrative?
Serge Lohman is one of the novel’s more complicated characters. How do perceptions of Serge change and alter over the course of the book?
Paul experiences violent fantasies on a regular basis. Do you believe that he acts on these violent fantasies into reality? What is the evidence?
Despite his young age, Michel is a bully and a manipulator. How does Michel influence his parents’ behavior throughout the text?
Babette is fiercely protective of her children. How does her attitude to both Rick and Beau affect the narrative?
Claire is just as ruthless and as violent as Paul. To what extent do you agree with this statement? Provide examples.
At the end of the novel, two people are dead and their murders remain unsolved. In the context of the novel, who benefits from this situation? Who is the victor?
The novel’s title emphasizes the importance of the dinner itself in terms of the narrative. How does the dinner influence the text?
The staff at the restaurant are often background characters. But to what extent do they affect the lives of the characters at the dinner table?
