The Slap

A Novel

De: Christos Tsiolkas

Narrado por: Alex Dimitriades

The best-selling cult author of Loaded and Dead Europe here turns his blowtorch onto the belly of middle-class suburban Australia and its notions of child-rearing and acceptable behavior.

At a suburban barbecue, a man slaps a child who is not his own. This event has a shocking ricochet effect on a group of people, mostly friends, who are directly or indirectly influenced by the incident. In this remarkable novel, Christos Tsiolkas turns his unflinching and all-seeing eye onto that which connects us all: the modern family and domestic life in the 21st century. The Slap is told from the points of view of eight people who were present at the barbecue. The slap and its consequences force them all to question their own families and the way they live, their expectations, beliefs and desires. What unfolds is a powerful, haunting novel about love, sex and marriage, parenting and children, and the fury and intensity - all the passions and conflicting beliefs - that family can arouse.

In its clear-eyed and forensic dissection of the ever-growing middle class and its aspirations and fears, The Slap is also a poignant, provocative novel about the nature of loyalty and happiness, compromise and truth.

©2008 Christos Tsiolkas. (P)2009 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Reseñas de la Crítica

"With The Slap, Tsiolkas secures his place as one of Australia's most important novelists." ( The Age)

An Uncomfortable Masterpiece

If you are looking for a book offering up characters easily loved, quickly understood, and easily forgotten this book is not for you.

If you are looking for a story line that is gentle, offers hours of easy escapism, and a tidy ending this isn't for you either.

This book will make you uncomfortable, uneasy and often unable to dredge up any positive feelings towards the characters. You wil be emerged by the author in a story that won't resolve. But the author will take you on a ride. He will knock you around with this book.

It's a masterpiece.

Great premise!

What did you like best about The Slap? What did you like least?

I downloaded this book because of the upcoming TV miniseries based on it. I loved the plot premise -- that an action, in a nanosecond, has the ability to shake things up in such a huge way. What I didn't like was the lengthy explorations into the lives of characters who had little or nothing to do with the actual plot. I mean, how much do you need to know about the lives and history of the elderly aunt and uncle of the guy who did the slapping? Or the teenage boy who babysits for the slapped kid? It would have been more than enough to further explore the 4 or 5 characters who were directly involved in the plot line.

Would you be willing to try another book from Christos Tsiolkas? Why or why not?

Yes. Because, again, I loved the premise and the writing was strong.

What about Alex Dimitriades’s performance did you like?

LOVED this guy. Took a little warming up but he really came through. His accents, his ability to segue into female and children's roles -- and he even had to sing in some parts! Really, really good. Compelling. And a beautiful Australian accent!

Great story concept but language distracting

really great storyline. language not for faint of heart and vulgarity related to unnecessary sexual encounters distracted from plot at times.

Boring

I liked hearing everyone's background but in the end it was boring. No kind of resolve

Pretty good.

Overall the book was engaging, the characters were interesting, had depth, and I found them relatable. Many reviewers said that they felt that the characters were very unlikeable, and it was true that they were not easy to like, but I don't find many real people easy to like either, though the story did lack a character you could really get behind, except maybe "Richie" whom you don't really get to know until the end. I think I was far happier with the book having gotten it for a discount on the "daily deal" than if I had paid full price. I will also say that the narrator choosing to sing occasionally rather than simply read out song lyrics was extremely ill advised and was horrific, but thankfully brief. I cannot imagine who thought that was a good idea. It did also contain quite a lot of needlessly graphic sex and obscene language, which while it doesn't bother me doesn't really add much to the book and is good to know in advance of deciding to play it on a car trip with, say, your mother.