When Sabrina shows up for her thirtieth birthday she is unexpectedly greeted by five people. The five living or dead people that she had on her "list." You know, the list of five people, living or dead, with whom you would most like to have dinner. Greeting Sabrina is her deceased father, who was out of her life long before he died. Her best friend, who has replaced her time with Sabrina with a husband and son. An old, professor, who made quite the impact on Sabrina. An old boyfriend, who departed in the most shocking of ways. And Audrey Hepburn, who wouldn't want to have dinner with Audrey Hepburn? Over the course of the evening, it is revealed why each one of them was chosen to be on Sabrina's list. And as each course of the dinner is completed, Sabrina is worried that when the dinner ends, those she misses the most will be gone forever. Will Sabrina get the closure that she so desperately needs or will the birthday dinner only prolong the pain that she has been feeling for too long?
The premise of The Dinner List is one that is intriguing. We all have a list either in our heads or written down of people we would most like to have at a special dinner. It has been a dinner party icebreaker for generations. The Dinner List is told in alternate timelines. The hours and minutes the night of the dinner and her past relationship with Tobias, the ex-boyfriend who is at the dinner. But really, Tobias is more than just a boyfriend and the author uses the alternate timeline to tell their story. The premise of The Dinner List is genius, but neither Sabrina nor Tobias are likable characters. They just aren't. Tobias is selfish and Sabrina plays the martyr. It makes it tough to really like either one of them. The end of the book was the end of the dinner and it didn't really end the way that I thought it would. The ending kind of came out of left-field. -- CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS
Bottom Line - The Dinner List is one of those books with a unique premise that falls short when it comes to character development. I stuck with it for the unique premise and hopes that there was going to be some sort of shocking twist at the end. There wasn't. But it did make me revisit the five people that I would want at my dinner. Living or dead, who would make your dinner list?
Details:
- The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle
- On Instagram
- Pages: 288
- Publisher: Flatiron Books
- Publication Date: 9/11/18
- Buy it Here!
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