Victoria's Literature

How timely and emotional! Dinner at the Center of the Earth felt like a conversation in the driveway long after you pulled in, one that you simply never wanted to end. Nathan Englander deserves all the hype I’d heard about this one. I’d now argue this to be required reading, especially given the political climate. Living in ignorance is not cute, and if you can’t keep up with current events at least inject some history into your reading repertoire. A nameless prisoner (Prisoner Z) takes us from Gaza to Paris, to Berlin to Jerusalem. Hiding and shifting, learning and divulging. Englander’s choice to make the protagonist unidentifiable shows that this could be anyone. It could be an uncle, a friend, a father. Although the setting is grim, Englander expertly sprinkles in humour to relieve some of the anguish. I believe that the most talented people can make light of the worst circumstances, so this is a great exercise in covert methodology. I typically run far away from political thrillers, but this one kept me going. One might consider Prisoner Z to be the anti-human, constantly on the contrary. I believe there is some of him in all of us as cognitive beings. I’ll have to admit I didn’t love the jarring time jumps, I know it was for a kaleidoscope effect but I was a tad dizzy. At times it felt a little too chopped and I may have wanted to linger in some time period for longer. It was very quick to get through and over-all enjoyable. I picked it up for its intriguing title and I’m delightfully surprised!