Dinner with the Schnabels

Things haven't gone well for Simon Larsen lately. He adores his wife, Tansy, and his children, but since his business failed and he lost the family home, he can't seem to get off the couch.

His larger-than-life in-laws, the Schnabels - Tansy's mother, sister and brother - won't get off his case. To keep everyone happy, Simon needs to do one little job: he has a week to landscape a friend's backyard for an important Schnabel family event.

But as the week progresses, Simon is derailed by the arrival of an unexpected house guest. Then he discovers Tansy is harbouring a secret. As his world spins out of control, who can Simon really count on when the chips are down?

Life with the Schnabels is messy, chaotic and joyful, and Dinner with the Schnabels is as heartwarming as it is outrageously funny.

In this timely new novel, Toni Jordan lends her signature wit to the story of a dysfunctional yet loving family group. Simon Larsen has lost his business and his home in the global pandemic and is now adrift in a tiny unit with his wife Tansy and their two young kids. Over the space of a week things get harder: Tansy's previously unknown half-sister arrives to stay with them, Simon's friend Naveen begins to act strangely, Simon's daughter Mia is in trouble at school and Tansy is hiding a secret. Over the course of the week, self-involved Simon's cluelessness is played for laughs as we learn more about his family. Watching Simon stumble through his life is like watching cringe comedy, hilarious and uncomfortable, and as Simon's life falls apart the reader slowly gets more insight into the situation he has created. Jordan carefully reveals just the right amount of information to keep you re-evaluating her characters in a comedy of errors where misunderstandings and miscommunications are rife. Jordan's latest novel is darker than her early romantic comedies Addition and Fall Girl-it has more in common with books by other Australian authors such as Jock Serong or Matt Nable, but with more humour. Cleverly playing with dramatic irony, an unreliable narrator and the backdrop of Covid-19, Dinner with the Schnabels tells a surprisingly sweet story about the darkness of feeling isolated in society and the joy that can come from community, family and authenticity. Jordan just might be our Australian, pandemic Nick Hornby. Fay Helfenbaum is a freelance writer and editor and was a bookseller for five years.

Toni Jordan has worked as a molecular biologist, quality control chemist, TAB operator and door-to-door aluminium siding salesperson. She is the author of six novels including the international bestseller Addition, which was longlisted for the Miles Franklin Award, Nine Days, which was awarded Best Fiction at the 2012 Indie Awards and was named in Kirkus Review's top 10 Historical Novels of 2013, and Our Tiny, Useless Hearts, which was longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award. Toni has been published widely in newspapers and magazines. She holds a Bachelor of Science in physiology and a PhD in Creative Arts. Toni lives in Melbourne.

'I loved every page of this funny, warm, delightful novel!' LIANE MORIARTY 'A smart, funny novel about love, marriage and family.' Weekend Australian 'With sharply observed characters and comic set-pieces to make you laugh out loud, Dinner with the Schnabels is great fun to read and casts a more mature and acerbic eye on modern masculinity.' Sydney Morning Herald, Fiction Pick of the Week You can marry into them, but can you ever really be one of them? A novel about marriage, love and family. Things haven't gone well for Simon Larsen lately. He adores his wife, Tansy, and his children, but since his business failed and he lost the family home, he can't seem to get off the couch.His larger-than-life in-laws, the Schnabels - Tansy's mother, sister and brother - won't get off his case. To keep everyone happy, Simon needs to do one little job: he has a week to landscape a friend's backyard for an important Schnabel family event.But as the week progresses, Simon is derailed by the arrival of an unexpected house guest. Then he discovers Tansy is harbouring a secret. As his world spins out of control, who can Simon really count on when the chips are down? Life with the Schnabels is messy, chaotic and joyful, and Dinner with the Schnabels is as heartwarming as it is outrageously funny. Praise for Dinner with the Schnabels : 'Laughs all the way . . . a charmer of a book.' Daily Telegraph ' Dinner with the Schnabels is a contemporary comic masterpiece. Practically every page boasts lines redolent of humour, wit and sarcasm that will make you snigger if not laugh out loud.' ArtsHub 'Hilarious.' The Bookshelf (ABC Radio) 'Told with great humour and pathos. It is a tonic and a delight.' PIP WILLIAMS, author of The Dictionary of Lost Words 'Just delightful . . . a modern comedy of manners that pokes affectionate fun at contemporary Australia - all with Toni's trademark warmth, sensitivity and tenderness. I am pressing it into the hands of everyone I know.' KATE FORSYTH 'Toni Jordan at her finest - brilliantly observed and highly entertaining. I inhaled her words then snorted them out laughing!' JOANNA NELL 'Smart, tender, wise and hilarious. This is a dinner I didn't want to leave.' KATHRYN HEYMAN 'A modern Melbourne Oscar Wilde comedy of family conundrums, perfect for David Nicholls and Beth O'Leary fans!' DANIELLE BINKS 'As heartwarming as it is outrageously funny.' Herald Sun 'A sparkling, clever novel . . . Toni Jordan is at her best here, r

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