The Slap by Christos TsiolkasMy rating: 1 of 5 stars
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 slap.
Christos Tsiolkas examines the impact of this apparently minor domestic incident through the eyes of eight of those who witness it. The result is an unflinching interrogation of the modern family, a deeply thought-provoking novel of boundaries and their limits.
Clearly Tsiolkas has a good understanding of people but I found the style of interspersing actual speech with the thoughts of the person annoying. I had to check for quotation marks on many occasions to separate one from the other. And the characters were horrible. The timeframe spanned is also very vague. I nearly gave up after about a third of the book but I really hate to DNF and this was a book earmarked for a challenge choice so I made it to the end, just. I think it's fair to say that the idea of "the slap" being a catalyst for an interesting book did not deliver.
It also contains lots of swearing, sexual scenes and racism.
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At 485 pages this is quite a long book given it all relates to "The Slap" that takes place during an afternoon barbecue for friends and family. (Not a spoiler - that's quoted in the blurb - see above.) What follows is the story of subsequent events as seen through the eyes of 8 of the people who witnessed "The Slap". Time moves forward as we are given insights into the lives of each of these 8 people.
Clearly Tsiolkas has a good understanding of people but I found the style of interspersing actual speech with the thoughts of the person annoying. I had to check for quotation marks on many occasions to separate one from the other. And the characters were horrible. The timeframe spanned is also very vague. I nearly gave up after about a third of the book but I really hate to DNF and this was a book earmarked for a challenge choice so I made it to the end, just. I think it's fair to say that the idea of "the slap" being a catalyst for an interesting book did not deliver.
It also contains lots of swearing, sexual scenes and racism.
View all my reviews
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What an interesting premise. Although, like you said, I can't imagine getting 485 pages from it!
ReplyDeleteI always appreciate your book reviews. :-)
ReplyDeleteWell, that's one that I won't spend money or time on!! Thanks for the review, though!
ReplyDeleteHi, I always appreciate your book reviews. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThe premise sounds so interesting. I hate that it didn't live up to that. I just read Hard By A Great Forest and really liked it. Took a little bit to get into but once in I was hooked. Hubs and I are listening to a 'mystery' called Long Time Gone and so far we both like it. We only listen when we're in the car so still have half the book to finish.
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