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This book is beautiful in its sorrow and heartbreak as we feel for a dysfunctional family that has everyone's best interests at heart...but often don't recognize how to show or deal with genuine emotion! Kate and Elaine are twins and as close as sisters can be until tragedy strikes. We see them through time, from the 1990's to the present as they cope with siblings, death, jealousy, and their mother with her idiosyncrasies but devout love for her family and its hardships. I laughed, I cried, I kept hoping time would heal them. But we've all known sorrow, and love, and secrets we must hide. I can't wait to read more of Gilmartin in the future! The ending was the only thing that makes me not one-star this book. It was interesting and unexpected, although a little too convenient. But I didn’t like how Marie and Candice were dismissed altogether from the epilogue. The story ends with Rosh Hashanah, the Last Supper. For members of the Gold and Rothschilds families it would appear to be more literal than figurative. But what happens to these families is nothing short of a miracle.
The Dinner Party by Brenda Janowitz | Goodreads The Dinner Party by Brenda Janowitz | Goodreads
The language of this story is so rich and spare at the same time, and it is deeply visceral without ever having to be vulgar. I do not know how she did it, but I am in awe.
I just adored this book, and I loved some of the ending, and appreciated another bit, despite it being sad. I even let the mini-me listen to the book, ignoring the swearing, she enjoyed it and was sad she didn't get a chance to listen to the end. I will let her know what happens. I will say this...at the next dinner party I attend, when someone suggests playing a game...that is going to be my cue to leave! It's about trust and dark secrets- it rests marriage to the limits- and none of them can begin to imagine it consequences. Well, well, well... remind me never to attend a dinner party with Richard J. Parker. His party games start with lies, add in a little betrayal, how about MURDER, followed by suicide, and you know, maybe some more MURDER. Simon: The unintentional guest. Broken-hearted at his wife’s affair. Seeking solace from married woman nearly as old as his mum.
The Dinner Party by Richard Jay Parker | Goodreads The Dinner Party by Richard Jay Parker | Goodreads
I really wasn’t sure at first, but as soon as they played a little dinner party game (a game that no couple should ever, ever play!), I was in. The book is a light read that imparts some of life's hard truths. I enjoyed the novel and recommend it to fans of humorous literature. Mostly, this pull revolves around the dominating presence of their mother. For the Gleeson’s are a family ruled by their mother’s moods and tempers, her never-ending desire for sympathy and attention, her rages, and criticisms. As the novel gives glimpses of the family relationships, we see how Kate begins to self-destruct and the author cleverly touches on comments and remarks which bring about a difficult relationship for Kate with, not only her mother, but food.Meals are a big part of this family’s life. In each of the six sections in the book, Gilmartin features food and readers become aware of the different relationships each has with food. For some, it brings them together and for others, it’s a source of repulsion. The ‘splitting’ had more meaning for me when I saw it echoing throughout the book. Clever. Ted and Juliette are having a dinner party with three other couples at their house. As the wine begins to flow, one guest has an idea for a game. The game consists of a truth and a forgiveness. The couples must write down a secret they are keeping from their partner. Without knowing what the secret is the other spouse must forgive them and burn the paper without ever knowing its content. Although most of them feel uncomfortable playing this party game, they reluctantly go along with it. What really could go wrong? In this satirical comedy, a handsome stranger inadvertently wreaks havoc in the lives of three couples. It's fitting that I read The Dinner Party during the first days of Passover. Really, I read it in less than a day, if you don't count the time spent in a Seder or sleeping. I just couldn't put it down! The short chapters that alternated between the large cast of characters helped things along, as I wanted to see what was happening for everyone throughout the story. Each chapter gave a lot of valuable information that built up to the climactic moment. Brenda is the author of eight novels, including THE GRACE KELLY DRESS, which has been optioned for film by Hallmark/ Crown Media, and THE AUDREY HEPBURN ESTATE, which was chosen as the Reader’s Choice by the CBS New York Book Club with Mary Calvi. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Real Simple, The Sunday Times (UK), Salon, Redbook, USA Today, Bustle, The Forward, the New York Post, Publisher’s Weekly, Hello Giggles, Writer’s Digest Magazine, WritersDigest.com, and xojane. She is the former Books Correspondent for PopSugar.
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