by Sarah Gilmartin
SYNOPSIS
Kate has taught herself to be careful, to be meticulous.
To mark the anniversary of a death in the family, she plans a dinner party - from the fancy table settings to the perfect Baked Alaska waiting in the freezer. Yet by the end of the night, old tensions have flared, the guests have fled, and Kate is spinning out of control.
But all we have is ourselves, her father once said, all we have is family.
Set between the 1990s and the present day, from a farmhouse in Carlow to Trinity College, Dublin, Dinner Party is a dark, sharply observed debut that thrillingly unravels into family secrets and tragedy.
As the past catches up with the present, Kate learns why, despite everything, we can’t help returning home.
REVIEW
Kate plans a straightforward yet flawless dinner party with her close family to mark the anniversary of her sister's death. However, this simple meal sets off a sequence of events which have dire consequences.
Unexpected and effective, Dinner Party is a story about family and grief and the great lengths a person would go to when they want to give the impression that they are ok when they are clearly not ok. It is a kind of morbid curiosity, like watching a car crash in slow motion - you don't want the picture to get any clearer because you know what's coming, and yet you can't look away. The dawning realisation that something was very wrong was hinted at gradually throughout the story until towards the end it just punches you in the face!
Even though Kate is the main protagonist who is dealing with a lot of major issues, it was actually her brother Peter who I felt the most sorry for. He gave up every chance of having a happy life to step up and take on the responsibility for their mother and the family farm.
The title and strap-line 'Dinner Party, A Tragedy' sums up the book perfectly. The things that Kate and her family went through were horrific but it was beautifully written, the story both complex and authentic. I thought that there might be more of a thriller element to the story, but what it turned out to be was a very unique, dark and moving portrayal of grief.
Thanks to @pushkinpress and @sarahgbooks for the opportunity to read and review.
Fiction: Literary Thriller / Literary Fiction
Format: Hardback
ISBN: 978-1911590569
Pages: 272 pp
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