The Dinner Party

This collection captures the male perspective of a complex and emotional world. The stories speak of unhappiness, trauma, mistrust, deception, and love. Many of Ferris's male subjects have been damaged by early childhood events and repeated disappointments. The choices they make in their current lives are dictated by experiences of the past. They often seem mystified by others in their lives, especially women. The main protagonist's perception of an event doesn't always accurately reflect reality. This results in a variety of unexpected outcomes. From the failed dinner party in the title story and the search for the meaning of life on a walking tour of Prague, to the middle manager who never got a life, each story captures a glimpse of the inner workings of the human psyche. Multi-prize-winning novelist Ferris (To Rise Again at a Decent Hour) provides insights small and satisfying in these bite-sized stories that evoke real life and bottomless human emotion.