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Content snapshot
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Violence
Some
The violence is gradually revealed as what the children did; some physical danger toward the novel's end
Language
Barely any
Mild language in Koch's literary thriller register
Sexual Content
Barely any
Minimal sexual content
Substance Use
Some
Extensive wine throughout the dinner; the narrator's relationship with drinking is part of his characterization
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The psychological horror of the narrator's moral vacancy — and the reader's slow realization of how unreliable he is — makes this one of the most effectively disturbing literary thrillers of the decade
What this book is about
Herman Koch's novel is set over the course of one elaborate dinner at one of Amsterdam's most exclusive restaurants, as two couples — one man a politician, one a stay-at-home father — navigate around the subject of what their teenage sons have done. Koch's narrator is unreliable and deeply disturbing; the slow revelation of what the children did, and what the narrator is willing to do about it, creates a profound portrait of moral bankruptcy. For adult readers of literary thrillers.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
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