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The Slap
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The sensational international bestseller by Australia's "preeminent contemporary novelist" (The Age), in his United States debut Winner of the 2009 Commonwealth Writers' Prize, Christos Tsiolkas's The Slapis a riveting page-turner and a powerful, haunting rumination on contemporary middle-class family
… More »The sensational international bestseller by Australia's "preeminent contemporary novelist" (The Age), in his United States debut Winner of the 2009 Commonwealth Writers' Prize, Christos Tsiolkas's The Slapis a riveting page-turner and a powerful, haunting rumination on contemporary middle-class family life. When a man slaps a child who is not his own at a neighborhood barbecue, the act triggers a series of repercussions in the lives of the people who witness the event-causing them to reassess their values, expectations, and desires. For readers of Jonathan Franzen and Tom Perrotta, this is a compelling account of modern society and the way we live today.
« LessHarry - (Male) Slaps Rosie's' child who was threatening his son
Hector - (Male) Harry's cousin
Aisha - (Female) Harry's wife
Rosie - (Female) Harry and Aisha's neighbor; her child was threatening their child; press charges against Harry for hitting their child
Library Journal
A group of family and friends gather for a backyard barbecue in suburban Melbourne, and the adults are all drinking a bit too much. The children are squabbling over computer games when a four-year- old with a temper tantrum brings on a disciplinary slap from an equally short-fused adult. The repercussions of this incident set off an ever-widening tsunami as the boys' parents threaten a lawsuit and their once tight-knit group lines up on one side or the other. Through the stories of eight of the partygoers, it becomes increasingly clear that everybody lies. These family-loving, house-proud, mostly successful Greek Australians could be kissing cousins of the American Sopranos. This essentially amoral crew own backstories rife with affairs, business misdeeds, and racial slurs. Verdict This 2009 Commonwealth Writers' Prize winner will appeal to those who prefer their novels complex and multilayered. While there is not a lot to admire about most of the players in this exceptionally well-written story, their intertwined lives and slowly revealed connections make for a singular reading experience.-Barbara Love, Kingston Frontenac P.L., Ont. Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.
Publishers Weekly
This astute exploration of suburban aspirations and failings, winner of the Commonwealth Prize and Tsiolkas's first novel to be published in the U.S., opens at a barbecue in Melbourne, Australia, where nearly two dozen characters are introduced in the opening vignette. The reader barely has time to absorb their names and relationships before the pivotal event occurs: a man, Harry, slaps a bratty child who is threatening his son. At the center of the altercation are Hector, Harry's cousin, and Hector's wife, Aisha, who is friends with Rosie, the mother of the boy who's been slapped. When Rosie and her alcoholic husband press charges, longstanding relationships threaten to fall apart. Told from eight perspectives, each of which gets a novella-like chapter, the novel vividly demonstrates the wide-ranging effects of a single moment's rash decision on characters as varied as Harry's 71-year-old uncle and a high school student coming to terms with his sexuality. Beyond simply igniting the plot, the fateful slap draws attention to generational and philosophical differences regarding family life and the complex political, social, and ethnic milieu of contemporary Australia. (May) Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.
Booklist
Although this is Australian author Tsiolkas' fourth novel, it is the first to be published in the U.S. With its raw style, liberal use of profanity and racial epithets, and laserlike focus on the travails of suburban life, it is a down-and-dirty version of Tom Perrotta's best-selling Little Children (2004). At a barbecue in a Melbourne suburb, a man loses his temper and slaps the child of the host's friends. This incident unleashes a slew of divisive opinions, pitting friends and families against each other as the child's parents take the man to court. Told from eight different viewpoints, the novel also deftly fills in disparate backstories encompassing young and old, single and married, gay and straight, as well as depicting how multiculturalism is increasingly impacting the traditional Aussie ethos. For good measure, the author also throws in male vanity, infidelity, and homophobia. Tsiolkas' in-your-face style is sure to alienate some readers the child's parents, for example, are among the book's most unlikable characters but his novel, which won the 2009 Commonwealth Prize, fairly radiates with vitality as it depicts the messy complications of family life.--Wilkinson, Joanne Copyright 2010 Booklist
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"The Slap" by Melbourne author Christos Tsiolkas has been nominated for the respected Man Booker Prize for fiction.
The book examines identities and personal relationships in a multicultural society and has become an international bestseller.
A bit disappointing really......a complex family and friends story. The book had such a big write up and rave reviews but I think it was overrated.
I liked this book - the cover leads you to believe that the book will cover the "slap" incident through the eyes of those attending the party, but more than that, it provides a window into the reasons why each person viewed the incident in the way they did and how they relate to the other characters.