Dinner for Two - Mike Gayle

                                               Image Credit : Fantastic Fiction
“Dinner For Two” sounds like a totally romantic novel, isn’t it?  – ummm but it isn’t. The story is very simple, Dave, a music journalist is in his early 30s and all he wants right now in his perfect world is kids. He is married to Izzy again a journalist in a women’s fashion magazine. Both comfortably settled in their jobs and wanting to start a family get their first jolt about the fragility of existence when Izzy suffers a miscarriage.

Even as they are recovering from their loss, another tragedy strikes when Dave losses his job – the magazine he works for folds. Dave then takes up the first “proper” job that comes his way – that of “agony uncle” for a teen magazine. Under these circumstances a new “problem” walks into his life in the form of a teenage girl – Nicola. Nicola is Dave’s daughter from a one night fling he had had when on vacation years ago. Then on the story is fairly predictable.

This book apparently is meant to be funny, the blurb behind the book promises that. But I did not find it funny at all except maybe just a little smile here and a wide grin there – boy, am I more sedate than the British? And to think the story of this book is set in London!

The first half of the book is quite slow actually – it ambles along how Dave found Izzy and how Dave found his job with Louder (the magazine which folds) etc. And then there are these long descriptions about each of their friends and then their partners and just when you think you are done with the introductions it is time to introduce Izzy’s mother and then Dave’s parents.

I read this book a while ago because I wanted to read something ‘light’ after reading a series of very heavy stuff, hence I survived the sheer crap in the first half.  The second half gets interesting with all the emotional and morally right questions kicking in. How do I (Dave) break the news about Nicola to Izzy? I love Izzy but now I also love Nicola – what do I do? Is Nicola really my daughter like Fran (a colleague from the teen magazine) suspects? 

But all these questions turn out to be uncalled for really as the book ends on a disgustingly predictable note. The book is called “Dinner for Two” because Dave is either dining with Izzy or Nicola or once in a while with Fran.

The one “joke” I would like to point out is when among the two couple friends of Dave & Izzy, Dave finds out that the guy from one couple is secretly dating the girl from the other couple – serious lack of imagination, wouldn’t you agree?

Seriously, don’t expect any surprises in this book; better yet don’t waste your time on this book, you won’t miss anything you don’t know already.

Verdict: Miserable

Rating: 0/5