Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Join the CBR18 Book Bingo Reading Challenge—Now Underway!   

The Dinner

The Dinner by Herman Koch

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An unremarkable couple stand in an unremarkable pub drinking unremarkable beer. Their names are Paul and Claire. They’re bracing themselves, for they are about to go to dinner with Paul’s brother Serge and his wife Babette. Serge is a rising star in national politics, primed for the position of PM after the elections, which are only six months away. Paul has picked the restaurant (mere mortals will need to book months in advance but they keep a table back for ‘people like me’), for they […]

Eat Up

The Dinner by Herman Koch

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Read as part of CBR13Bingo: Libations.  Truthfully, this should be a “White Whale” read. I’ve been putting this one off for years and I further buried it when I wasn’t impressed with the beginning of Herman Koch’s Dear Mr. M. In fact, I probably wouldn’t have picked up a copy had I not been stuck at a bookstore with money burning a hole in my pocket and nothing else looking appealing. Sometimes, I make bad decisions regarding impulse book purchases. This is not one of those times. […]

I’m not upset. Why would you be?

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This book is going to be difficult to review because I don’t want to give anything away but I really want people to read it. Paul and Claire are meeting Paul’s brother Serge and his wife Babette for dinner. They do not want to go. Immediately I wanted to know the family history. Serge seems like he’s been steamrolling Paul all their lives and yet Paul knows he won’t skip out on the meeting. He fantasizes about all the things he can do to get […]



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