The Slap

A Novel

By: Christos Tsiolkas

Narrated by: 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

Critic reviews

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

Repeated graphic vulgarity is just boring.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

More character, less sex fantasies and masturbation.

What could Christos Tsiolkas have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Focus more on story and less on tediously repeated graphic descriptions of sex acts. Yes, sex is a normal part of a healthy life but do we really need to hear numerous descriptions of ejaculate complete with what it looked like, what it was on, what it was wiped up with? And that is just with one of the characters and before we even get to the women. Enough already.

What didn’t you like about Alex Dimitriades’s performance?

Great parts are read in a dull and emotionless voice.

Engaging book - reading a bit patchy.

I was impressed by this book. Tsiolkas' showed great insight into the prejudices and insecurities underlying the lives of 'everyday' people. The expanding and unexpected consequences of one spontaneous act upon the lives of many was well portrayed and the characters for the most part were well developed. There was a liberal use of crude language which may have been a bit overdone (because I noticed it) but overall it didn't spoil it for me (and I'm in my 60's). My one complaint was Dimitriades reading. He read it too fast! It took a while to tune in to his style and pace. While his 'Greek' voice suited the novel well, the fast pace sometimes led to lack of clarity when adjectives and other descriptors were elided and garbled. I felt like that he needed a bit more practice. If it had not been for that I would have awarded this 4 out of 5.

Different

I enjoyed the slap. It was interesting hearing everyone's perspective. I was a bit shocked by some of the behavior, but the book was well done. Intriguing and curious. It was easy to keep lustenibg. Wondering what was bext.

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.

It could have been so much more

The gratuitous sex and masturbation scenes proved to be a distraction from the plot line. It got better as it went along but the most engaging moments of this book were around the actual event and the exploration of parenting ideals and entitlements that can result, which unfortunately were brief and lost in explorations of minor characters that didn't advance the plot. The crudeness of language and the scenes were off putting, but with deft handling could have done a lot to advance the story rather than detracting from it. I didn't really like any of the characters, which maybe was the point. The reader was good and the accents were interesting and proved to be a draw for me.

"The Slap" is a misleading title!!!

I loved the development of each character. I was completely enthralled with this book!!! Now I'll watch the mini series however I'm not expecting it to compare to this book.