Often reading the news these days, we are asked to make moral judgments on the story: when is forgiveness possible–is there a time limit on injustice; is truth a matter of perception; when are we required to act when watching/reading about cruelties? Reading The Dinner by Herman Koch, these questions are in your face.
This is one of those books that could sit on your self for a long time before you have the will to read it. One of the difficulties I found with getting into the book was the fact that the narrator is mentally unstable and we are listening to him talk to himself. Like most of the reviews on Goodreads, I can’t decide if I like the book. I do like the questions it raised.
It becomes a parenting book to me. How far would you go to defend your child? Psychotic parents, not withstanding, looking at the event on which the dinner hinges–a crime by Michel & Rick, Koch asks us whether we agree with the decisions of the parents.
The dilemma I was faced with was one every parent faces sooner or later: you want to defend your child, of course; you stand up for your child, but you mustn’t do it all too vehemently, and above all not too eloquently – you mustn’t drive anyone into a corner. The educators, the teachers, will let you have your say, but afterwards, they’ll take revenge on your child. You may come up with better arguments – it’s not too hard to come up with better arguments than the educators, the teachers – but in the end, your child to going to pay for it. Their frustration at being shown up is something they’ll take out on the student. (The Dinner by Herman Koch)
When we define ourselves as a moral person, is there a line that we will not cross? Without reading into the religious dogma, I think, the 10 commandments are, at least, a good place to start. And, I would hope that I would have the moral fortitude to expect anyone close to me to take responsibility for their actions and pay restitution as appropriate.
Other layers in this book deal with privilege classes, mental illness and sibling rivalry. The opportunity that a novel such as this gives us is the chance to think about and discuss our perspectives on society and whether we are the ones to initiate a change.