'The Dinner Party' New novel serves up family drama with a side of smiles

Family dynamics are at the heart of Brenda Janowitz's latest novel, "The Dinner Party," a sometimes poignant, often hilarious look at a Passover Seder that turns into the social event of the year for the Golds of Greenwich, Connecticut. Especially when Sylvia Gold learns that her youngest daughter will be bringing home her latest beau, the only son of the legendary Rothschilds (yes, those Rothschilds), as well as his stellar parents.

Unfortunately, her older daughter is bringing her longtime and less-than-appropriate boyfriend and his overly dramatic, no-holds-barred Italian mother, while Sylvia's son - the doctor - will be spending the holiday in a tent in Sri Lanka with no electricity under his tenure with Doctors Without Borders. Or is he?

Forget the expensive china, the fresh flowers, and the perfectly pressed linen napkins, not to mention the hired chef, the only thing brewing at this dinner party is a recipe for a family disaster.

Janowitz has a gift for serving up family drama with just the right dash of humor. Her characters are relatable and charming, even if they're not always on their best behavior.

I not only loved this book, like a delicious meal, I devoured it.

Unlike Janowitz's first book, "Scot on the Rocks," a fast, funny read about a woman invited to her ex-boyfriend's wedding, and loosely based on a true story, "The Dinner Party" is purely fiction.

"I wanted to write about how we need to let go of the past in order to move on with our future," says Janowitz. "Passover was the perfect metaphor for this idea!"

"The Dinner Party" was released in April. Janowitz says she's currently working on a book about marriage and parenthood.

In addition to being a terrific writer and a great storyteller, Janowitz is a lovely person.

Last year, when we did a story on summer reads, she happily agreed to recommend some of her favorites, and also sent us a couple autographed copies of her novel, "Recipe for a Happy Life" to give to Times News readers.

And because she is really just that nice, and knew how excited I'd been about her new book, she sent me a copy of "The Dinner Party."

Since I'd already purchased a copy for myself, we're going to share the love and give the second copy to a Times News reader. See the inset box to learn how.

Brenda Janowitz is the author of five novels, including "The Dinner Party" (St. Martin's). Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Salon, the New York Post, Publisher's Weekly, PopSugar, Mom.me, Hello Giggles, Writer's Digest Magazine, WritersDigest.com, and xojane.

To learn more about Janowitz and her books, visit brendajanowitz.com.

Here's how you can win a copy of "The Dinner Party"

We're giving you three chances to win a copy of Brenda Janowitz's latest novel. You can do any one of the following, or all three, but only one time each for a total of three entries.

1. Tell us about a holiday or dinner party disaster of your own.

2. Send us a foolproof holiday or party recipe.

3. Share a link to this story on Facebook and tag the Times News in your post.

Send your disaster story or foolproof recipe to kcimms@tnonline.com by June 1.