The Dinner List: A Novel

Rebecca Serle

Sep 2018 · Sold by Flatiron Books

About this ebook

A Bustle Book Club Selection

This poignant and romantic novel from the New York Times bestselling author of One Italian Summer and In Five Years answers the question: If you could have dinner with any five people, living or dead, who would they be?

“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 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.

Ratings and reviews

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!

Where to start, where to start .. I heard a lot about this one over the years and managed to snag a copy from a used bookstore about two years ago. It's since been sitting on my BOTM bookshelf and I finally decided to pick it up. In the beginning, I was really loving this one. I was so caught up in everything Sabby and Tobias. It seemed like the perfect love story and maybe a chance dinner to try and rekindle their lost connection. Over time, however, it started becoming more of a this may not really be a "meant-to-be" love story and the dinner became sad and sometimes redundant. As the evening progresses I started to care less and less about where Sabby and Tobias would actually end up. I did love the overall theme of the book, and also loved the game that they played with each other. The game of 'five'. Five words to say what they were feeling at that exact moment, always ending with the word love. Find me on Instagram: @bookn.all.night

Loved the premise. Loved the flawed characters. Loved the ending.

About the author

Rebecca Serle is the New York Times bestselling author of One Italian Summer, In Five Years, The Dinner List, and the young adult novels The Edge of Falling and When You Were Mine. Serle also developed the hit TV adaptation Famous in Love, based on her YA series of the same name. She is a graduate of USC and The New School and lives in Los Angeles.