Nikolai has, to his great despair, forgotten to decline his invitation to the residents' association's annual dinner. This means that he must spend an entire evening as a guest of Rolf Slependen, a nouveau-riche architect who has build himself a luxury apartment on the top floor of the tallest apartment building in the condominium. The other guests represent a cross section of the new cultural elite: the artistic director of a theatre, a publisher, an author, a retired surgeon – and behind the kitchen counter there is a nationally renowned chef.

As dinner progresses, the atmosphere around the table becomes more and more tense. Mr and Mrs Slependen are clearly drunk before the main course is even served. And it is clear to the guests that they were not invited to the Slependen's house out of politeness, but to bear witness to a merciless battle between spouses. Grandiosa is a hysterically funny novel about art and kitsch, architecture and the self-image of new culture capitalists.