A Dinner Party Descends into Horror
Literature has long held a fascination with the dinner party as a setting for drama, and Viola van de Sandt makes a formidable entrance into this tradition with her debut novel, The Dinner Party. The story centres on Franca, a young Dutch woman living in the UK, who finds herself tasked with hosting a crucial meal for her English fiancé, Andrew, and his two male colleagues.
A Recipe for Disaster
The circumstances of the evening are fraught from the start. The event takes place on the hottest day of the year, amplifying the tension. Franca, who is a vegetarian, is pressured into cooking rabbit for the main course. To add to the chaotic atmosphere, her only help in the kitchen is their pet cat, which has a tendency for violence. The novel opens not with the party itself, but a year later, with Franca in therapy. Her therapist, Stella, has suggested she write a letter, and the entire narrative is framed as this correspondence to a mysterious figure named Harry.
Through these therapy sessions and the letter, Franca's background is slowly revealed. We learn of her grief-stricken childhood and her lonely time as a student in Utrecht, where she first met Harry and later the handsome and privileged Andrew. Convincing herself that her problems would disappear if she became part of Andrew's world, she drops out of university and follows him to London. There, she lives a listless existence in his Kensington flat, half-heartedly applying for internships while spending her days drinking and watching television.
Visceral Prose and a Bloody Climax
While the novel touches on themes of class and identity seen in works like Natasha Brown's Assembly, its true power lies in the visceral, horror-like description of the dinner party itself. Van de Sandt's prose is intensely sensory, painting a picture of putrid decay in the sweltering heat. Cannellini beans are described as looking like 'fat maggots', and the rabbit flesh 'glistens, seems to crawl'. The failing fridge contains curdled milk and swimming butter, and a knife lies ominously on the counter.
The tension escalates relentlessly throughout the evening. Franca's body is progressively assaulted—first by the cat's vicious scratches, then by a blistering cigarette burn, and finally by a terrible, violating act. The narrative is punctuated with references to the inevitable 'business with the knife', building towards a bloody and horrific climax. This is contrasted with the present-day sections, where Franca, through her therapy, is slowly rebuilding a sense of calm, finding solace in refurbishing her Berlin flat.
Published by Headline at £20, The Dinner Party is a bold and unsettling debut that marks Viola van de Sandt as a compelling new voice in fiction. The combination of its gruesome central event and the quiet aftermath of recovery creates a jarring but powerful read that offers plenty to savour and contemplate.
