![]() ![]() ![]() But looks can be deceiving, and behind the scenes, their life is not as happy as it seems.Ĭonversations with Friends by Sally Rooneyįrances and Bobbi are spoken word artists who are befriended by Melissa, a well-known journalist, who wants to write a profile on them. Jack and Grace give every appearance of being the perfect couple, and they throw the most wonderful dinner parties for their friends and neighbours. The younger couple later take their turn to host a dinner, but events have already been set in motion that will change all of their lives forever. The four characters first come together socially at a dinner party hosted by the older couple in their elegant, four storey Georgian townhouse. This story focuses on the relationship between two couples who are significantly different in age and affluence. A key couple arrive late and unhappy, and the evening descends into drunken dancing, arguments and wild accusations, until eventually someone storms out into the night. At one point, Cate and her husband host a dinner party, even though Cate finds the prospect of it excruciating. This story follows three friends, Hannah, Cate and Lissa, as they navigate adulthood and relationships through a decade and more. Suddenly, the evening feels on shaky ground. The partner is supposed to announce forgiveness and set the note on fire without reading it. Each person has to write down their deepest, darkest secret-something that has happened since they took their wedding vows-and pass the note to their partner. Ted and Juliette invite three other couples to a dinner party on a Friday evening, and one of the guests suggests they play a trust game. When he arrives, he realises the other guests know each other well, and he remembers some of them from a holiday he took in Greece ten years earlier, when a young girl went missing… He almost declines, but he’s down on his luck and about to be made homeless, so the lure of a good meal and a ‘decent glass of French’ is too much too resist. Here are ten books where the author has used a dinner party to great effect:Īt the beginning of this book, Paul bumps into an old university friend and is invited to dinner. It’s well past midnight, and as we head home, we realize that only one thing is certain: if you encounter a dinner party in a novel, it will never be uneventful. Yes, study the smiling, privileged guests around you: can you guess which one knows where the bodies are buried? Can you imagine the lengths they might go to, to protect their position in this elite social group? And lurking beneath all this is the potential for something far more serious: real danger. The possibilities for tension stack up like so many layers of filo pastry: a misjudged dress code here a stilted conversation there a clumsy attempt at matchmaking a barbed compliment that takes your breath away. But you don’t hear my whispered doubts you’re distracted by the pop of a champagne cork, mesmerized by the charming stranger seated next to you…Įnough of that! We’ll make our excuses and dash on to a grander, more formal dinner party, where glamour and sophistication abound, and we sense the need to stay alert. ![]() I say kind, but my author brain is weighing up alternative interpretations: condescending social climbing manipulative. How kind the host is here, enquiring about the details of our day, introducing us to the other guests around the table. We’ll make a hasty exit and hurry on to a dinner specifically arranged to bring new acquaintances together. Before we know it, secrets and home truths are spilling out across the crumb-strewn tablecloth, and relationships are thrown into chaos. But with so much shared history, there can be undercurrents of tension: perhaps a toast to a job success stirs up envy, or the use of a hated nickname sparks resentment. The guests here have known each other for years, and we all like to let our hair down when we’re in the company of old friends, don’t we? We shuck off our inhibitions with our coats in the hall the wine flows early and our words are gleeful and unguarded. Let’s begin our fictional dinner party tour by dropping in on the simplest, most casual of suppers. At its worst-well, the potential for drama and catastrophe is enough to make the heart of any dinner party host plummet, and the eyes of any novelist light up. At its best, the humble dinner party offers good food and laughter, an escape from daily worries and a chance to plan new adventures. There’s something deliciously intimate about a dinner party, don’t you think? The thrill of being included in a carefully considered gathering, the chance to relax and socialize in a welcoming and private environment. ![]()
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