The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle
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August Book of the Month Pick
If you could have dinner with any five people, living or dead, who would they be? It's a question I can't seem to answer. I honestly can't make up my mind. Would there be hard feelings if I chose J.R. Ward over my husband? Probably. He knows about the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Are you obligated to pick your own child? Your parents? Bill Murray would be amazing, as would Amy Schumer. Would they be as interesting to talk to as Nnedi Okorafor or John Scalzi? Should I think bigger? Queen Victoria or King Arthur? Can they be fictional? If so, definitely King Arthur. Or Odin.
Like I said, I can't make up my mind.
Sabrina Nielsen arrives at her birthday dinner to find Audrey Hepburn, her deceased father, longtime roommate and best friend Jessica, her college professor, and her ex-lover Tobias. How? No one has any idea how they got there, why they are there, and how much time they have. What follows is a sometimes uncomfortable look at how our many relationships can shape our lives and possibly our own destiny.
Turning 30 hasn't been what Sabrina thought it would be. Her decade long relationship with Tobias hasn't led to marriage. She hasn't climbed as far up the ladder in publishing as she'd like. Her best friend is now married and a mother in the suburbs with a completely different life than her own. Added to her stress, her birthday dinner includes her long deceased father who left the family when Sabrina was still little. Will learning his side of the story bring closure? Why is her former professor at the dinner? How did Audrey end up here and what does she have to teach Sabrina about love and life?
A look at life, love, and forgiveness, Rebecca Serle explores it all with grace and sensitivity. Told through a combination of memories and present day, Sabrina reflects on her life and relationships and what she needs to be fulfilled.
This was my third Book of the Month pick and I have yet to be disappointed. While this story did start a bit slow, I really wanted to learn how and why her list of five was able to be at the dinner.
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