Delicious but never indulgent, sweet with just the right amount of bitter, Rebecca Serle’s The Dinner List is a romance for our times. Bon appetit! A Bustle Book Club Selection “I have five words for Rebecca Serle’s The Dinner List: wistful, delicious, romantic, magical, love.” —Gabrielle Zevin, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry and Young Jane Young“We’ve been … Storied Life of A.J. Fikry and Young Jane Young
“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 with in 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.
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We’ve all played the game: Which five people, living or dead, would you like to have dinner with? But what if that dinner was to actually happen?
In “The Dinner List” written by Rebecca Serle, Sabrina has until midnight to navigate through the highs and lows of her life…abandoned by her father as a toddler, first love, and tragic loss, and reconciliation.
One dinner…the clock is ticking, can Sabrina get it all back?
Well written, easy to read, but hard to put down!
Have you ever been asked “If you could have dinner with any five people, dead or alive, who would you choose?” The Dinner List is a novel about Sabrina, who sits down to dinner for her 30th birthday with five people, one of whom is Audrey Hepburn. An interesting premise, but as the novel moves forward, we are given hints that there’s a reason these five people have been chosen, and in a few hours Sabrina is able to work out her feelings of regret, sadness, love, and friendship so that by dinner’s end she, and everyone else at the table can move in the direction their lives have taken them.
Even though I didn’t have a clue where this novel was going to take me I quickly found myself wrapped up in the dinner conversation and in Sabrina’s life as told through flashbacks. This dinner list was started when she was in college with her roommate and best friend Jessica. On this list was her father who had left she and her mother when she was a toddler, her college Philosophy professor, her best friend Jessica, Audrey Hepburn, and the boy she had a blind crush on in college. As the novel progresses we see the reasons why each of these people were at the table. As each course is eaten, something new is revealed about Sabrina’s life and the people at the table help her deal with her emotions about that time in her life. These scenes were sometimes sweet, funny, fascinating and sad. However they made me feel, I eagerly ate them up digesting the words as if they were a calorie free all you can eat dessert buffet.
I think the reason why this novel worked so well was because Sabrina was not a perfect woman. She was completely flawed. At times, I didn’t understand her reactions yet I wanted to know so much more about her. In one scene we find out Sabrina is named for Audrey Hepburn’s character in the movie Sabrina because her mom and dad thought that that character was a young woman that knew what she wanted and was determined to get it. A great person to emulate, however this Sabrina was more like Audrey Hepburn’s character in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Holly Golightly. Sabrina was afraid to be alone, wanting to always be connected to others and she let that fear rule her.
This book made me reflect upon my own list of five people I’d like to sit down to dinner, dead or alive. Should I sit Jon BonJovi next to Abraham Lincoln or Margaret Thatcher? Or maybe I should ask Candice Bergen if she’s available? Regardless, I don’t think it would be as interesting as Sabrina’s journey was in this book.
I really loved this story!!
his book took me a bit to get into. I started it and put it down and came back to it and so glad that I did. There was so much to Sabrina and her relationships and how it all fit together. So many of them resonated with me. Some laughs and some tears and a wonderful read.
This story was unexpected and I could not put it down. It touched on the hereafter and gave lots of hope for love.
I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!!
Thankyou to the author Rebecca Serle and Flat iron books for the chance to read and review this book objectively.
If you were allowed give people to chose for a dinner party, loving it dead, who would you select? My thoughts went to the great philosophical geniuses of time. However, I did not see this selection of Sabrina’s coming! I was mesmerized by the conversation and the directions it took. They did not father to discuss those things of which we have questions, but to help a woman to heal. I cried, was so taken aback and ultimately surprised, that I couldn’t put this incredible book down. I cannot stop thinking about it. I can say, this book has changed my life, thoughts on forgiveness and letting go of the past. I will be reading it again! It is a MUST READ!
Very different & original.
Sabrina has a list of 5 people she’d like to have dinner with, and the story jumps each chapter-dinner party, then a flashback to some point in the last 10 or so years of Sabrina’s life, then back to the dinner party.
I enjoyed what felt little peeks into Sabrina’s life, and the story moved quickly.
Bon appétit!
I received a ARC copy of this book and this is my honest review. I loved this book~ in the beginning it was a tad bit slow and I wasn’t sure about it. However as I read on I was hooked. I was interested in the characters the main character Sabrina choose to invite for dinner to celebrate her thirtieth birthday. When she arrives to dinner, she is greeted by the actress she never met in “real life” and that was Audrey Hepburn as well as three others from her past and her current best friend Jessica. The book flashbacks from the present to the past and the author Rebecca Serle does this well. It’s a wonderful book about love, lost, hurt and forgiveness. The book spoke to me and hit close to home in regards to my personal life. I had tears flowing down my cheeks as I was reading the last few chapters on the beach! Thank goodness for floppy hats and big sunglasses! I recommend this book for your next book club read or just for your own reading pleasure. I felt it was one of my best reads of 2018!
This was a very unique story by Rebecca Serle, I really liked it! It’s Sabrina Nielsen’s 30th birthday party and she chooses five people, living or dead to attend. An interesting mix, that adds to the uncertainty of the occasion.
Serle’s character development, in her alternating timelines, allows the reader to get to know those in Sabrina’s life, so that the conversation at the dinner party is relatable.
The lesson learned is that no matter how much we may want to change events or outcomes in our lives, it can’t happen. And the people we love leave indelible memories. A worthwhile read!
Thanks to Rebecca Serle and Flat Iron Books for this very entertaining story. #thedinnerlist
A very interesting and enjoyable read. A very different concept and truly enjoyable. I found this to be well written and thought-provoking. The start was a bit slow going for me, but the story picked up and it was well worth reading. Read this one!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a review copy. This is my honest opinion.
I have five words for Rebecca Serle’s The Dinner List: wistful, delicious, romantic, magical, love.
I really didn’t know what to expect when I started this book. I didn’t know much about the book and Rebecca Serle was a new-to-me author. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Haven’t we all seen or been asked the question—’If you could invite 5 people to a dinner party, living or dead, who would they be?’
Well, we get dropped right into Sabrina’s dinner party and as the night goes on we learn so much about her life, her loves, and her disappointments. The Dinner List was a very enjoyable escape, filled with great characters—such wise people seated around the table—helping Sabrina navigate through her past and her future on her 30th birthday.
This was a quick, very satisfying read for me, one that made me stop and think about the 5 people I would invite to dinner. (That just may be a topic for another post some day.) Now that Rebecca is no longer a new-to-me author, I’ll be checking out some of her other books.
Imagine that you could gather the people you’ve loved – dead or alive- at one table, for one night, with a chance to heal yourself once and for all. The Dinner List is a heartbreakingly romantic book framed by such an evening. It’s Serle’s unflinching investigation into the triumph and failings of love that makes this book one of a kind. A touch magic, a touch tragic, and absolutely compelling from beginning to end.
The Dinner List answers the classic question, if you could dine with 5 people, living or dead, who would you choose? Sabrina chooses her best friend, Jessica, her late father, Robert (who left her and her mother when she was 5 years old), her favorite college professor, Conrad, her ex-fiancee, Tobias, and … ummmm … the late Audrey Hepburn.
As the story alternates between the dinner and Sabrina’s relationship with Tobias, the reader finds out more about Sabrina’s often tumultuous relationships with all of these characters. Even though some of the characters at the dinner are alive and some are dead, I never questioned the plausibility because the story itself was riveting. What if you could solve your life’s biggest questions and regrets in one very long, very honest dinner conversation between the five most pivotal people in your life? Read about Sabrina’s life changing dinner party in this sweet, quick, and engaging read!
I received an advance copy. All opinions are my own.
Location: Los Angeles, California and New York City
I had to give myself a few days after reading this book, before I tried to write a review. This speaks really well of the author doing her job to perfection. I was so deeply involved in the story that the characters were annoying me quite a bit. The two main characters are so unlike me and seemed so immature at times. It bought out very strong feelings in me. That really is what an author is trying to do. They write a story to draw you in and consume you.
I honestly do not like a story that is not linear. It is not my first choice in picking a book to read. This book is a nonlinear narrative. The plot is pretty much two time lines going on at the same time, but each interrupted the other, just as I wanted an answer.
After writing that, you would think that I would rate this book poorly, but quite the opposite is true. A book that draws me in, makes me emotional and annoyed, did what I would expect of an excellent plot. The author made me care about the characters and what happened to them in the past and very interested in what is happening currently in the present of the book’s plot.
The main core of the story is not new. The idea has been around for some time; to imagine who would be the five people you would like to dine with, living or dead. Some people would pick their favorite people. Some would pick only close family. The main character of this story, Sabrina had made her list years ago and altered it only once (that we know of). She chose three people who she had unresolved relationships with and two people she admired (one she knew and the other was Audrey Hepburn (which she did not know personally). You do not know much about the people at the dinner or the reasons she chose them at the beginning of the book. As the story flows, you find out clues.
The plot mainly focuses on Sabrina and Tobias (they were a couple). There are two subplots; the non-relationship between Sabrina and her father, Robert and Sabrina’s relationship with her best friend Jessica, which has evolved over the years. I will not go into the storyline more, since I think the book I best read not knowing too much.
This is the first book I have read by this author. I received the ARC of this book through a giveaway on The Girlfriend at AARP’s website. I am giving this review freely with my true opinion, not influenced by receiving the book.
I receive this copy of The Dinner Guest as a publisher giveaway. Thank you FlatIron Books. I found the book to be a quick and easy read, the storyline was a interesting premise and original. Made me sit and think about whom my 5 people would be that I would invite to dinner. I’m sure we all have someone that we would like to make peace with, try to figure out why things didnt work out the way expected. I don’t always enjoy books that jump back and forth between the past and present but in this case it works. All views and opinions expressed in this review are my own and left voluntarily. I would definitely recommend this book it others.
If you could invite any five people – live or dead – to a dinner party, who would they be? For her birthday, Sabrina Nielsen invites her close friend Jessica, her on again-off again boyfriend Tobias, her estranged father, a favorite college professor and Audrey Hepburn. Through flashbacks of her life, we learn Sabrina’s story and why this group of people has been assembled. It is a charming, sweet story – sometimes sad, sometimes funny, but most times an enjoyable read.
The Dinner List is an imaginative, heart-wrenching tale that asks its narrator, Sabrina, if she could invite five people to dinner who would it be? Her list consists of her father, her best friend, her boyfriend, an old college professor, and Audrey Hepburn. When Sabrina arrives at her thirtieth birthday dinner she is surprised to find that it isn’t just her best friend Jessica in attendance. There is tension at the table though, as it is revealed there is a purpose behind the special guests being there. Rebecca Serle explores personal growth, forgiveness, and acceptance as the dinner progresses from simple topics to those that weigh Sabrina down daily.
We’ve all pondered over this question at some point in our life; would we pick someone famous or maybe someone we had lost? For Sabrina, she selects those she knows and loves, someone she wants to know, someone she wants to learn more from, and a woman she idolizes and connects to many important parts of her life. The story begins at the table, with alternating chapters taking us back into Sabrina’s past. We learn about her friendships, her relationships, and the events that lead to the dinner. It’s a sentimental tale, one where we see Sabrina grow and accept that she must both forgive others and forgive herself if she is to ever succeed going forward. I loved how the story was crafted, directing large moments in Sabrina’s life and revealing to us the impact those events had on her and on others. It’s imaginative, a story that I know has been done in the past, but has not left such a lasting impact on me. It’s also incredibly sentimental, this feeling of wanting someone or something, being able to touch it, but knowing it isn’t tangible once the dinner is over.
This sounds sort of odd, considering I did give 4.5 Stars and not 5 Stars, but The Dinner List is a novel that NEEDS to be on your TBR list. I wasn’t engaged the first 40% of the novel, I struggled to want to continue reading and I admit the only thing that kept me reading was the other reviews I had seen. Then came the nitty-gritty, deep part of the novel and I was done for. Once the story picked up I was turning the pages so quickly and trying to get every bit out of this novel I could. With tears streaming down my face and my heart aching I finished this novel in love with it. I highlighted so many passages and have thought of it several times since finishing it a few days ago. It’s a fantastic chick-lit novel, with main character, Sabrina, questioning life, love, and the future she must create for herself.
This was a sweet read, full of wit and regret and cautious hope. I was immediately drawn in by the opening line (Audrey Hepburn is one of my favorites too) and intrigued to see how Serle would play out the eponymous dinner. The back-and-forth between the hour-by-hour dinner conversation and Sabrina’s life and history with each of the invitees was a great format for laying out the story (both back and ongoing) and it kept me engaged by drawing me over, through, and among the events that underpinned the relationships between the characters. The writing was simple and heartfelt, as were the interwoven story lines. The emotion never felt cloying or overdone; rather it struck just the right chord between sentiment and reality and I quite enjoyed it throughout. This would make a lovely movie!
Many thanks to BookishFirst for providing my review copy.
I received a free advanced copy of this book from the publisher via BookishFirst.com. This is my unbiased and voluntary review.
Since they were college roommates, Sabrina and Jessica have had the tradition of taking the other out for a birthday dinner. But this year, Sabrina is surprised by who joins them- the names on her “Dinner List”, (the five people living or dead, you’d like to have dinner with), which she had created at Jessica’s prompting many years ago when they were still in college. Jessica (originally her grandmother, but Sabrina had crossed out her name and replaced it with Jessica’s, recently when they had become distant), Audra Hepburn, her father, Robert, who had left when she was 5, her favorite college professor, Professor Conrad and Tobias, her fiancee. Dead and alive, the people are there to help her heal and relieve herself of regrets.
It is a beautifully written original story about family, friends and love. Some tears will be shed reading it and no HEA. I read it in a day.