This is another book that I picked up in the read now section of Netgalley which I couldn’t get in to. The description sounded right up my alley but it didn’t turn out to be.

I found this quite slow at the beginning, ok in the middle and the end but overall I was a bit disappointed. I think I was expecting it to be more exciting than it was so I think it’s more my expectations that were let down rather than the book.

Wow. I was actually really surprised at how much I liked this one. I was expecting good, but this was brilliant.

I enjoyed the complexities of the family dynamic and the way this novel carefully unravelled the interconnecting relationships. There were times when I felt the energy of the plot got lost, but the characters were always vivid and wonderfully observed,

This is SUCH a good read, I loved every minute of it and I loved the family.. Kate is so relatable and I loved her. It follows her family and their backstories, I don't want to say much more as I don;t want to spoil it but I can;t wait for more from her.

Dinner Party is a story of family, death, grief, addiction, mental health, and so much more. The main character's twin sister died tragically when they were teens and the book begins 16 years later at a dinner party in observance of that anniversary.  At the core (or, I should say, as the bookends) is one dinner party in particular that is seemingly innocuous in events, but that really eats away at the main character, Kate's, subconscious. I love how the structure of this book seems to be built around how one bad night can make sure hyper-aware of all the things you've ever done wrong in your life.  

(The only thing that threw me was that I thought we were jumping into a flashback and I was not expecting the majority of the book to take place in the past.)

There's a moment in the first section, Kate & her siblings have been talking ill of their mother and Kate "reminded herself that her mother was down in Carlow, bothering no one." I can't think of a better way to put into words the guilt that comes with talking about someone behind their back. But as the story unfolds, we learn that their mother was emotionally (and many times physically) abusive. And this thought from Kate holds even more weight, just one of many times the siblings share in this belief that their mom can't help it, she doesn't mean to be the way she is. 

Throughout the book, we readers get to see many of the interactions with the mother. And they are such frustrating moments when you have someone who is doing terrible, unforgivable things, but they are convinced that they are in the wrong. There's no reasoning, there's no compromise, there are just words that spin and spin and spin until she runs out of steam and changes the subject. And every one of these scenes is just so well-written. 

And this is not just a story about these siblings and their mother; this is a story about family. And in all of these scenes, there are a least 3 other things happening at the same time, a wonderful chaos that signifies a well-written, realistic story.

Another concept that I think is so well done in this book is seeing through Kate's eyes what it's like to see her twin become a completely different person from her. Long before Elaine's death, Kate was struggling with her twin identity; they looked identical, but they had different hobbies, different interests, and different ways of dealing with their mother.

Sarah Gilmartin's Dinner Party is being released in March in the U.S. (and has already been released in Ireland). I read an advanced copy through #netgalley -- It was my first NetGalley read and I am so glad to have started on such a great note!

Throwing a dinner party for the anniversary of her twin sister’s death causes Kate Gleason and her siblings to look back on how the death, events leading up to it and their emotionally manipulative mother has impacted on their life paths.

This book is a harrowing and emotional read in places, darkly humourous in others. This is a reminder that families are complex and relationships are nuanced. Especially around the turning of different ways of life, death and grief and past traumas.
I enjoyed the pacing of the story and felt that the character development and the delving into the past helped me to shape the plot and how I related to the characters. This book has a well thought out plot and is cleverly nuanced.

This is an immersive story about a messy Irish family, their losses and grief and how it passes down generations. I found the pace a bit slow at the start and also at the end, but the middle section of the book is where the magic truly happens. Loved the authenticity of the characters!

DINNER time can be fraught with misunderstandings, misinterpretations and missed opportunities. Be it a child refusing to eat the meal their parent made under pressure, a guest turning their nose up at the choice of starter, the sound of the doorbell an unwelcome interruption during desert, who knows what’s going to happen when a group sits down to break bread together.
Kate, who is in her early-30s, has invited her two older brothers and sister-in-law to her Dublin flat for dinner on Halloween night, to mark the 16th anniversary of her twin sister Elaine’s death. The mood isn’t downbeat; enough time has passed to mark their sister’s anniversary not with sadness, but with fondness.
That is, at least, on the surface. Kate is wound tight, and as the evening progresses old demons begin to surface. When the time comes to serve the third course, a baked Alaska slaved over during the afternoon, instead of presenting it with pride, she tips it into the kitchen bin. The party soon disperses after that, with her brothers seemingly none the wiser about her breakdown.
The scene then shifts to the family’s earlier years in Carlow, Elaine still alive, two parents present, an enviable farmhouse home in which they’re based. This is also when we meet Mammy, who had been alluded to as “undiagnosed” at the dinner party, and who at once becomes a fearsome, if sympathetic character.
The matriarch rules the roost with her moods. Sometimes she takes to her bed for days until she abruptly returns to the daily running of life, pushing her children to do their best, be it get top points in the state exams, pair up with a suitable young woman or win top prize at the horse show. Her form can shift from one minute to the next – when she is good she is very, very good but when she is bad she is awful.
The siblings’ father is slightly older than his wife, usually mild-mannered amongst his well-loved children and hard-working on the large farm he owns. From time to time there are blazing arguments with his “difficult” wife, which more often than not fizzle out from a tussle into an embrace.
Kate is the less dynamic of the twins; although their interests align, they have been encouraged to distinguish themselves by excelling in separate disciplines, quite Kate musically, with the piano and determined Elaine in the horse world. Their brothers are a few years older, itching to escape into the wide world, and as they do they take risks by treading ever less softly around their volatile mother.
When two tragedies strike within a few short years of each other, none of the remaining siblings emerges from them unscathed, but it is Kate we follow, and Kate we see losing herself to risky behaviour when she reaches Trinity College, as well as a decline into disordered eating, a way, we surmise, of regaining control over her life.
This is really cleverly and effectively rendered by debut author Sarah Gilmartin, who not only bookends her engaging, empathetic first novel with two dinner parties, but includes food as an ever present, almost menacing additional character in each of the segments covered, including a hideously disastrous drunken encounter with Kate’s married lover, and a discussion about candy-floss at an ill-fated gymkhana.
Like many other reviewers, I can’t not reference Anne Enright as a favourable comparison to this accomplished, well-observed, heart-breaking book, with the multi-layered family relationships so meticulously realised in all their horrifying, uncomfortable, loving detail.

I enjoyed this book. It was a little slow reading at times, but definitely worth the read. A dysfunctional family, one that pretty much anyone can relate to in some way or another. Takes place over the years, 1990's to the present day.

I received a free copy of, Dinner Party, by Sarah Gilmartin, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Kate wants to throw a dinner party, to mark the anniversary of her twins death. I really did not have empathy for Kate, she made it to difficult, but a well written book.

This was my first book to read by Sarah Gilmartin. I loved the Irish setting of the book. Some of the characters were easy to identify with. The book is about an Irish family that is full of all types of everyday messiness of modern family life. The book deals with family secrets and tragedy and shows how each one deals with it. The book is very well written and easy to get lost in the pages.

Thank you net galley for providing me with a free copy of Dinner party in exchange for a honest review.


This book had such a promising premise yet the execution failed completely.

The main issue are the characters and their complete lack of interesting traits including the MC. All of them have these complex issues stemming from childhood trauma, yet somehow they are completely uninteresting to read about as they lack any sort of special characterization. They simply enter in scenes whenever it fits the plot, share their trauma or badly attempt to cover it and then leave. They have as much personality as a plant and it frustrated me so much I nearly dnfed.

BOOK REVIEW

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Dinner Party by Sarah GIilmartin

This is a story about Kate Gleeson who grew up in a dysfunctional Irish family, where tradition and concern about what people think are important especially to her mother.

The story is told at separate points in Kate’s life and alternates between timelines. The central theme is the trauma associated with the unexpected death of two seperate family members over several years and the associated and unimaginable loss and grief. It also deals with her complex relationship with her mother and her lifelong battle with an eating disorder.

Kate’s mother has significant mental health issues. She resents being a wife, mother of 4 children and home-maker. She has a classic “victim” type personality. Her frustration often manifests into uncontrollable rage and violence. A most unlikeable woman. However towards the end of the book, the reader does start to soften toward her.

This novel deals with the trauma and tragedy that besets the Gleeson family and it’s many and varied consequences.

The characters are complicated, but the reader is asked to find some empathy and compassion for their complexities.

It all starts (and ends) with a dinner party. The development and growth of the characters keeps the reader enticed.

I really enjoyed this debut novel by Sarah Gilmartin. I liken her style to Marian Keys or Australian author, Liane Moriarty.

Thanks to @netgalley @pushkin_press and #sarahgilmartin for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

#dinnerparty #sarahgilmartin #pushkinpress #netgalley #family #familydynamics #trauma #grief #loss #eatingdisorders #mentalhealth #booklover #lifasabooklover #bibliophile #bookstagram #booksofinstagram

This was a good slow burn psychological thriller/family drama. It did take awhile to get into, but I found myself getting drawn into the characters. Overall, it was pretty enjoyable.

This novel follows Kate Gleeson going back and forth between the present and her past as a child and a young adult. Kate does not have an easy life, with difficult family losses, an abusive mother, and an eating disorder. Yet despite all of that Kate is trying to reclaim her life and thrive while learning to grow and forgive.
Honestly this book fell very flat for me. The whole book felt like not much happening and I just kept wanting more. I don’t fall in love with the characters at all and it was a bit of a struggle for me to get through. I did like the concept of the plot but at times I kind of hated the main character and found her to have a victim mentality. I think this could have made an excellent novella and been shortened a whole lot. I will say though, I did enjoy the ending it rounded out the book well and it made me feel like the book ended fully completed and left me feeling happy for the main character.

I loved this book! It really had everything I look for- family drama, love, happiness and some grit. The writing was wonderful. Highly recommend.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5324593132?book_show_action=false

Kate has a problem, a problem she is in denial of. After a family dinner on the anniversary of her sisters death she spirals.

A slow but powerful page turner exploring family dynamics in all their dysfunctional glory. I devoured this in two sittings.

Stick with this one, it’s beautiful.

Thank you to Netgally for an ARC copy of this book.

I was drawn right into this book a delicious family drama I could not stop reading.Sarah Gilmartin writes so well her characters come alive.Will be recommending Dinner Party and looking forward to more books by her.#netgalley #thread

Dinner Party tells the story of Kate Gleeson and her family. We meet them at their annual dinner party where they celebrate the life of Elaine, Kate's twin who died in her teens. The dinner party was hosted by Kate, who, we learn, is struggling with an eating disorder, alcoholism, and a seemingly-meaningless life. Her brothers are concerned.

Then the story takes us back to a time when the Gleesons were an intact yet dysfunctional family. Mother Bernadette is a very troubled woman who terrorizes her children and pitches fights with her husband, a farmer who doesn't seem able to stand up to his wife and hides in his work on the farm.
Then we watch them lose their father and Kate's twin sister. All four have to get on with their lives.
After the death of her twin sister, Kate comes unraveled. We follow her to Trinity College and an unfulfilling job in Dublin.

The narrative goes back and forth between Kate's life in Dublin in 2018-19, her earlier life on the farm, and her college years. I found this going back and forth a bit confusing at times. The subtle and slow narrative style makes it difficult to figure out what's going on at times. It seems like Gilmartin is inviting the reader to feel the confusion, anguish, and pain of grief, whether it be in a dysfunctional family, alcoholism, an eating disorder, or a seemingly-meaningless life.
The story ends on a more positive note, after one more disastrous dinner party where all five members of the Gleeson family quarrel, speak up for themselves, and appear to be making some progress.

The book is well-written and deals with important issues that plague many families. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy slower reads that deal with the nature of families and the issues that plague us in life.

Thank you to Pushkin Press and Netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.