THE BASICS
- Title: The Dinner List
- Author: Rebecca Serle
- Genre: Contemporary Romance
- Structure: First-person narrative with flashbacks
- First Line: “We’ve been waiting for an hour.”
Synopsis: We’ve been waiting for an hour. That’s what Audrey says. She states it with a little bit of an edge, her words just bordering on cursive. That’s the thing I think first. Not: Audrey Hepburn is at my birthday dinner, but Audrey Hepburn is annoyed. At one point or another, we’ve all been asked to name five people, living or dead, with whom we’d like to have dinner. Why do we choose the people we do? And what if that dinner was to actually happen? These are the questions Rebecca Serle contends within her utterly captivating novel, The Dinner List, a story imbued with the same delightful magical realism as One Day,and the life-changing romance of Me Before You. When Sabrina arrives at her thirtieth birthday dinner she finds at the table not just her best friend, but also three significant people from her past, and well, Audrey Hepburn. As the appetizers are served, wine poured, and dinner table conversation begins, it becomes clear that there’s a reason these six people have been gathered together. Delicious but never indulgent, sweet with just the right amount of bitter, The Dinner List is a romance for our times. Bon appetit.
THE GOOD
First thing I thought when I saw this book and read the summary: hard pass. I had already made up my mind that I didn’t like it and wasn’t into it. I thought I’d be going in to read some ho-hum novel about the same old love story retold with different characters. I don’t know if I’ve ever been more wrong about something in my life. Here’s my take:
- This is an intensely beautiful story. It’s a book I could read over and over again and never get tired of it. I used to highlight lines in books that were powerful and that I wanted to remember. I’ve stopped doing that now because I lend books out and it feels like such a personal “dear diary” thing to do. But, if I still did, this whole book would be a rainbow of neon highlighters.
- I loved how this was a journey through grief. I realized about halfway through that I was being taken through the seven stages of grief with this character. I haven’t read a lot of work recently that have been written with such intricate intention. It’s one of the details that made me feel connected to this book.
- I dry-heaving ugly cry sobbed at this thing. This is an emotionally charged books with many anecdotes on life. I felt like this book was a healing read for me and could easily be a healing read for other people.
- I like that each character serves a definitive purpose. It forces you to think about the characters in your life. There were moments where I felt like “okay this could be cliche”, but it never quite reached that point. Even the characters that I didn’t like I still felt an affinity to because they were written so well and without judgment.
- I liked the ending. I’m staying true to my “no spoilers” promise and won’t spill any detail, but it’s not your typical ending. This might turn some people off. Normally, I’d be up in arms about it. But, upon reflection, I think it wrapped up perfectly and any other ending wouldn’t suffice for the gravity of the story.
THE UNFAVORABLE BITS
I don’t have any complaints about the book itself. My biggest gripe is actually the synopsis. I begrudgingly added this book to my list. Honestly, I was looking forward to it the least because the synopsis made it seem like somebody making another attempt at an overly generic creative writing prompt. That couldn’t be further from this book. The synopsis downplays the gravity of this book by a lot and I’m not sure why. So, if the synopsis turns you off, then give it a read anyway.
As always, I give you a heads up about strong language or graphics in case you’re sensitive, or if the person you’re recommending the book to is sensitive. This book doesn’t have many occurrences of strong language or graphics.
CONCLUSION
I rate this book 5/5 stars. I was surprisingly taken by this book. I assumed it was going to feel cheap and cliche, but Serle has created a beautiful story with immense value and sentiment. This has easily just become one of my new bookshelf favorites for life. This book is full of such raw emotion, triumph, grief, love, and light. This is a diamond in the rough. I recommend it to anyone who is searching for a meaningful and powerful read.
GET YOUR COPY OF THE DINNER LIST!
JOIN OUR MONTHLY BOOK CLUB!
I received The Dinner List from the Book of the Month Club. It was so great to receive personalized book recommendations at my doorstep! Honestly, I’m not sure if I would’ve picked up and experienced The Dinner List if it wasn’t for BOTM. You can join the club here for under $15 a month!
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN’