The Dinner List

by Rebecca Serle

Book Overview

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...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250295181
• ISBN13: 9781250295187
• Release Date: September 2018
• Publisher: Flatiron Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Thought provoking

An interesting topic, made me think about how I would have applied that situation to my life.

Please call me a taxi!

This is one book I wished I hadn’t paid for, even six dollars. I was influenced by these favorable reviews. The only positive was the idea, the concept of this dinner list. I will say I didn’t finish the book. I read 1/3 & the last chapter. I didn’t care for the writing, the dialogue fell flat, her friends uninteresting, the paramour was annoyingly obtuse, the professor bafoonish…… poor Audrey, she would have been bored to tears by Sabrina & gang. I was neither delighted, intrigued, enraptured or wanting more. In fact, I just had to leave the dinner table & excuse myself for the duration ! Maybe, it’s a generational thing. I found this a boring book!

FUN magical realism

I just thought "The Dinner List" was brilliant and funny. Fun fact though was that Audrey Hepburn did play a role as Sabrina. Same name as the protagonist. Coincidence? I think not! I liked the premise - having the chance to dine with a favorite celebrity even if its just a daydream definitely sets up an interesting premise. To add to that are her other guests - people from her past. I couldn't think of any other reason not to read this book. I guess if magical realism isn't something one likes, then I suggest to move on to a different book. This novel is definitely for those who are willing to suspend one's belief and find entertainment in the absurd. What I liked most about this book was the cover. This sounds kind of cliché but it was like I'm being invited to read this book. The color's vibrant, energetic, and inviting. It's just perfect for this book, the story, and its character.

More than just a dinner party


I picked this one up knowing little more than the premise of the book, hoping for a nice little change of pace and a quick jaunt over in to some whimsical magical realism for a minute but WOW was I surprised to find myself so effected by this story!
The book is told in two parts, flashing between scenes from this unusual dinner party that seems to unfold in real time and back through time as the story of a romance unfolds, told in what seems to be somewhat of a highlights reel, almost 500 Days Of Summer style (man, now I wanna drop everything and watch that movie!)
It took me only one day to read this book and as soon as I put this book down I had to go find my husband and ask for a big hug, it was just THAT emotional.
 I’d recommend this for anyone who can suspend reality for a moment and who loves a good love story.

A Book Which Delivers a Memorable Message

About half-way through this book, I realized that the author was the same woman who wrote Famous in Love (which I shamelessly adored). This felt like a huge revelation, since this particular book seemed like a huge deviation from her former releases. The writing style and mature story line are almost unrecognizable, and I really appreciated this aspect. It showed me the diversity of her skills as a writer, which makes me even more excited for her future releases! But onto the actual book review... Though this book is short, there is a lot of info and emotion packed into the 288 pages that are given. Rather than reading a story from start to finish, the book's short chapters made me feel like I was taking brief sneak peeks into Sabrina's life. The timeline is as befuddled as her emotions, and though it seems as though it would be confusing to understand, it somehow works. I felt the emotions of the characters in all their anger, resentment, and denial. Audrey Hepburn's inclusion on the dinner list is truthfully what initially drew me in, but I definitely stayed for the characters and their tangled relationships. While there were some relationships that I felt deserved more of a spot light, I did feel like everything was successfully wrapped up by the story's end. Though the ending did feel slightly depressing, the book delivers a nice message that will leave an impression on readers. All in all, a good read that feels memorable! 3.5 stars!

A must read

Gathering 5 people, living or dead, for dinner seems impossible but for Sabrina’s birthday anything is possible. This novel is jam packed with love for family and friends, grief over those no longer living, and most importantly letting go of things we can’t control. A quote from the book says “let go and let God.”

Worth Reading

I really enjoyed the idea behind this book because we have all thought about it - who would we have over to dinner if we could pick anyone, dead or alive. This story is told in present at Sabrina's 30th birthday party and through flashbacks featuring most of the various guests at her party. I liked the idea of it and even though I saw parts of it coming, I still really enjoyed following along with the story to see how it all unfolded. It was hard for me to ignore the fact that this dinner party was able to happen without much explanation and Sabrina doesn't seem too interested in the particulars of how it happens. I kept waiting on some kind of explanation and it never came. That was the only thing that was kind of disjointing to me. And that is probably just the type of reader I am. Even in a fantasy type story I still want an explanation for why things happen the way they do. Other than that, this story was moving and sad and just may inspire you to think about the people who would be on your dinner list and to spend time with them if you can.