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A Novel
by Viola van de Sandt
For fans of Cleopatra and Frankenstein and Assembly, an intimate and darkly propulsive story told over the course of a dinner party, from its careful preparation through its explosive, irrevocable finish, about the tensions of love and autonomy, grief and female rage, and the surprising moments when they come crashing to the surface.
Franca left the Netherlands behind to start her new life in England with Andrew. Andrew, whose parents lived in South Kensington but had a flat their son could "borrow" nearby. Andrew, an old-fashioned British gentleman who encourages her not to work but to instead focus on her writing. Andrew who suggests a dinner party with his colleagues to celebrate their big upcoming launch.
A dinner party that Franca must plan and shop and cook and clean for. A dinner party during a heatwave when the fridge breaks, alcohol replaces water, and an unexpected guest joins their ranks, upending the careful balance between everything Franca once was and now is…
Expertly weaving the past and present with precision and delicious tension, The Dinner Party is a thoughtful and thought-provoking look at female rage, body autonomy, and all the concessions women make throughout their lives—big and small—until the surprising moment when they decide they can make them no longer.
"Despite the author's elegant, sometimes insightful prose, Franca's never-ending victimhood and the constant hints about revelations to come become tiresome...Though there's lots of talk about feelings, van de Sandt has written a polemic on sexual politics disguised as a novel." —Kirkus Reviews
"A slow-burn, time-shifting, suspenseful thriller...Tense and compelling." —Booklist
"[A] propulsive debut...With sharp prose and emotional clarity, The Dinner Party is the tale of one woman coming to know about herself and about life, a breathtaking, fast-paced tale of a woman's hurt and rage and anger and despair...A propulsive tale of female rage and becoming." —Shelf Awareness
"The Dinner Party is a profoundly confronting and claustrophobic novel which consumed me whole. It's tender, astonishing, and unflinching, and a deeply moving portrayal of experiencing sexual trauma in the domestic. Warning, dear reader, side effects may include utter speechlessness, a deep sinking feeling, and staring at walls for prolonged periods upon turning its final pages." ―Lucy Rose, author of The Lamb
This information about The Dinner Party was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Viola van de Sandt has degrees in journalism, comparative literature, and English literature from King's College, London. A draft of a previous novel was longlisted in the 2019 Mslexia novel competition. She lives in the Netherlands.
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