The Slap: A Novel

Hector and Aisha are a successful fortysomething married couple with two children living in suburban Melbourne, who are hosting a weekend barbecue for friends, colleagues and family. They are typical, yet unique; Hector is a successful manager born to Greek immigrants to Australia, and Aisha is a veterinarian of Indian descent . Both are stunningly attractive, and are quite proud and aware of their physical appearance. On the surface, Hector and Aisha appear to be a model and staid middle class couple.Friends and family come over; all are middle class, and represent the diversity of cultures that populate this international city. The adults talk amiably and the kids play nicely -- at first. The men and women begin to bicker, and so do the kids. One of the boys, a three year old who is still breast fed by his dippy Aussie mother and allowed to express himself without fear of punishment, begins to fight with the other kids and destroy the toys that they are playing with. His behavior spirals out of control, and one of the adults, who is not related to him, slaps him in a pique of anger. The boy isn't seriously hurt, but his parents are incensed, and threaten to sue the "assailant". The party abruptly ends, as the inebriated adults bicker and take sides with each other.The novel explores the reactions of several of the adults and one teenager who attended the party to the slap. Each chapter is told from the viewpoint of one of the characters, and we learn about their dissatisfied lives, motivations, and secret desires. Each is selfish, unfaithful and untrustworthy, terribly flawed and dislikable, but 'human, all too human'.It is all too easy for the reader to reject and dismiss these characters, with their foul language, use of drugs and alcohol, and the abysmal way in which they raise their children. We're not like that, and we would never associate with people like this. However, these are real people, and their desires are not that much different from the rest of us, except that they act on them whereas we might -- might -- restrain ourselves. Like us, they bemoan the selfishness and boorish behavior of the current generation of children and teenagers, while ignoring the reality that our own self-absorbed attitudes are the main cause of this."The Slap" is an unblinking look into the lives of real people, which will make the average reader squirm with discomfort and disbelief. However, Tsiolkas effectively removes the veneer of middle class life, and his indictment of the failings of our consumer driven, me first Western societies is a worthwhile contribution that should be widely read and heeded.

Hector and his wife Aisha, along with their two children, Melissa and Adam, are hosting a Saturday party of “family, friends and work colleagues” as “a way of repaying countless dinner and party invitations” at their suburban Melbourne home. It is a large, diverse crowd—diverse by age, ethnicity, work, wealth, religion, backgrounds, desires, and lifestyles. The food is literally “a feast” and the alcohol and drugs flow without stop. Among the many children present, one sticks out: Hugo, the son of Rosie and Gary, close friends of Aisha. A “cherubic, gorgeous” three-year old, he is also very spoiled and totally undisciplined by his parents, especially by his mom who, to the consternation of many, is still breast feeding the boy. As the party wears on, Hugo becomes more and more peevish, acting out in disorderly fashion, never corrected. Hugo eventually threatens to hit another boy with a bat, eight-year-old Rocco, the son of Hector’s cousin, Harry and his wife, Sandi. Harry’s frayed patience with Hugo (as well as the child’s parents) has him grabbing the boy by the arm to tear him away. Hugo, his face “gone dark with fury,” kicks “wildly into Harry’s shin” and Harry, in a split second, responds with a slap to the boy—a slap which “seemed to echo. It cracked the twilight.” Like a rock being thrown into a pool of water creating almost endless ripples, Harry’s slap creates waves of consequences among friends, family, and associates.THE SLAP (2008; 496 pages) by Australian author Christos Tsiolkas (b. 1965) is a very compelling, modern novel. After readers sort out who is who among the large cast of extremely well-drawn characters, the author brilliantly chronicles in detail the lives of a number of the individuals and their families who are affected by Harry’s slapping of a child not his own. The novel is captivating storytelling at its finest.Tsiolkas devotes eight lengthy chapters to a major character and those important in each of those person’s life. He provides informative background stories for character and displays for readers the thoughts and motivations of every one of them. The dialogue is always fascinating and what the characters don’t reveal of themselves, Tsiolkas’s omniscient narrator unveils.At one time America was known as a “melting pot” defined by Merriam-Webster as “a place where a variety of peoples, cultures, or individuals assimilate into a cohesive whole.” Today, many people would question America’s cohesiveness. In Tsiolkas’s depiction of modern Australia, he presents a “melting pot” of even greater diversity than perhaps America ever contained. However, under the veneer of Melbourne coherence, the author also exposes some grim realities. Racism, selfishness, intolerance, an unwillingness to even try to understand others, irrationality, and poverty are all very present.Although readers will be able to discern the meaning of the author’s frequent use of words of slang from a variety of cultures though the context in which the words appear, some readers may choose to keep access to Google by their side for specifics as they read. The author’s repeated use of callous profanity, although true-to-life, may very well offend some readers. Likewise, his frank portrayal of sexuality in many forms—be it heterosexual, homosexual, between persons of different ages, interracial, outside of marriage, consensual or coerced, etc.—is likely to take some readers by surprise and might be objectionable in the sense of what they are reading is not what some readers choose to believe exits or is representative of their culture. Similar demurrals often greeted writers such as Henry Miller, Vladimir Nabokov, Philip Roth and John Updike, among many others. The profanity and sexuality Tsiolkas bares, however, is presented in a very realistic, non-titillating fashion appropriate to the lives the author is depicting.Hector is at the fore of the author’s first chapter since it is his and his wife’s party at which “the slap” occurs and from which events progress. Bursting with masculinity as well as sexuality, Hector isn’t always the ideal role model for a husband or father. Aisha, a veterinarian, is “the glue” which holds her family and friends together. In Chapter Two readers get to know Anouk. She is a liberal, principled screenwriter struggling to remain devoted to creating realism in her work in a world of commercialism. Her boyfriend, Rhys, is an actor whose greatest talent may be his looks. Chapter Three gives readers Harry of the infamous slap. Behind his good looks and financial success which has fueled a sense of superiority is a man filled with anxieties and insecurities about his past. With a pending law suit against him for child abuse, he is filled with intense fury and hostility.In Chapter Four readers discover Connie is a complex, extremely knowledgeable yet often naïve senior in college. Without parents, she sees Hector as both a father figure and the man she most desires and fantasizes about as she watches others her age forming relationships she has not. Her best friend Richie, is gay, and Connie constantly gives more to others than she receives in return. In Chapter Five Rosie materializes as a woman who views her life as a series of hardships until she becomes a mother and her entire life and fulfillment begins to revolve around her son, Hugo. When Harry slaps her child, she transforms into a vengeful Banshee bent upon revenge, dragging her husband with her.Of all of the chapters and portraits in the novel, Tsiolkas bestows the most bitter sweet pages onto Manolis. The oldest of the author’s characters at sixty-nine and Hector’s father, the chapter is filled with pathos revolving around aging and the plight of a tiring body which is wearing out. The senescent Greek immigrant sees death “tightening its grip” on his friends, his often-dour wife, and himself. Married to Hector for nineteen years, in “her chapter,” Aisha is allowed the opportunity to step out of her usual, stable life and all of the trauma which has entered into it. As with Manolis, hers is one of the most fascinating lives to which Tsiolkas gives birth. In many ways, the chapter is a celebration. Equally a celebration is the last chapter of the book which focuses upon Richie. Tsiolkas gives readers a youth who doesn’t struggle with his sexuality, but who has focused his hopes and dreams on all the wrong, unattainable people. In a surprising string of events, Richie discovers a new life enveloping him which brings the novel to a delightful conclusion.Although Tsiolkas highlights a specific character for each of his chapters, he also brilliantly advances his story through their portraits and sheds additional life on the many characters readers first meet at the party. Running throughout the chapters are reverberations of “the slap,” with people either defending or deriding Harry’s actions or those of Rosie and Gary. It is an exceptionally well composed and plotted narrative.In spite of so much angst and division throughout the novel, there are also elements of true love and dedication to family and to life itself. There is a sense of redemption and a cycle to life. Regardless of what happens, good or bad, life goes on. People have a choice of whether to give themselves new chances or accept those offered by others or not. Renewal is always possible. After finishing the last page of the extremely well written, psychologically insightful and thoughtful The Slap, readers will feel privileged to have spent so much time with people whose lives may be vastly different than their own, but in which one finds an essential connection—that of being human. [NOTE: THE SLAP was made into an Australian TV mini-series in 2011 and an American version appeared in 2015.]

great premise for a book...i was really looking forward to reading it...trouble is i can't say if i was disappointed or not. i note that alot of reviewers are saying that they did not like any of the characters ~ neither did i, but the characters do not have to be likable for a book to be good. personally i found my dislike of the characters to be frustrating at times because of the fact that they were real and honest portrayals of the flawed nature of human beings. i had a couple of issues with the book. firstly that the writer tried to cover so many societal issues instead of sticking to the core subject...this left me with a feeling of non closure to any of them. secondly, and perhaps my biggest issue, was the use of the c word! i tend to swear like a trooper, as most aussies do but it's excessive use was unnecessary and instead of adding to the impact of it's use it was distracting for me. on the positive side i found the comments made on australian society to ring true to me...confronting and disappointing sometimes, but honest. i also enjoyed the story being told from numerous points of view/characters. on the whole, would i read it again...no. would i recommend it to others...probably not. am i glad i persevered and completed i...yes.

This was a proper slog to get through and there are SO many characters !! I remember watching it on television some years ago, the Sophie Okonedo version, I think, and I enjoyed it but now I've read the book I will watch it again out of interest.The child in question certainly merited a good slap in my opinion and in the opinion of many of the attendees at the time. Though just how many would've actually done it is really what the remainder of the book tells us. All the men appear to be oversexed neanderthals and the women insipid fools who just suck it up....literally in some cases ! The most likeable person for me was young Richie and Anouk also spoke the most sense of any of them. You won't want to read this if straight talking offends you, either. I liked that side of it, it made a refreshing change in this PC-driven world, but I am sure many will be ready to have a fit of the vapours !! The whole thing of Hugo still breastfeeding at almost 4 years old I couldn't get on-board with.....that just isn't normal.I did chuckle when he mentioned that Australian drinking differed from all other cultures in its extremity.....don't forget from whence they came...sigh.....I made a notation that I had never happened upon an error so early on in a book before either....in the "All rights reserved. no part of this publication....". right at the start where this was written !! He mentioned a pet on the cheek where the word is usually pat, snuggly not snugly, clammering not clamouring, conjoling not cajoling, bought not brought. He also refers to Aisha's porcelain skin when she's part-Indian.....so that doesn't tally. Then there were missing words in sentences, dropped commas, words like Ecstasy, Speedos and Ventolin not being capitalised, the usual e-book apostrophe errors....so this was all a bit tiresome for me as well.A line spoken by Tracey near the end made me cry, I must say, which was unexpected !! However, it was a hard-going book in the main and never seemed to end for me.

This is actually a pretty good book but it feels like it has been padded out to make it enough pages. So any characters inner thoughts go and on and realise I need to skip a few pages. The of course there is the sex which goes no and on in so much detail, nearly enough to make you vomit.The publishers obviously used an editor who is hopeless, When it could have been so much sharper. There is the odd burst of really good dialogue, I mean really sharp on the same level as good US writers, the ones around in the 30/40s! But all of it drowned out by all the characters thoughts. Aaaaaargh!It says Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize but the list must very long!As I have said nearly amazing but cut to about half would really be amazing!

The first thing I liked about this book was that I can't remember ever reading a contemporary novel set in Australia, and it was fascinating to get a view of that society.The second was that the story was told from the point of view of a succession of different character. This is hardly a novel concept, but I thought it was really well done here. My feelings about the different characters definitely shifted throughout the novel as they were shown through their own and a variety of other people's eyes. As is always a danger with an approach like this though, some characters stories and voices were much more compelling than others, though all were interesting and well-written to some degree.The third was that the "is it ever okay for a man to slap a child who isn't their own?" wasn't actually at the centre of things as much as all the descriptions I'd previously read seemed to imply. I was relieved, as whilst that is an interesting question I was dubious about whether it could sustain a whole book. That plot is fairly well handled (though I have my problems with it - see below) but predominantly serves as a spring board for an exploration on Australian society(and to some degree western society more generally), taking in all the big themes - race, gender, class, religion and family. It made some interesting points about these issues without getting too preachy.Fourthly, the world felt so real, with all the pop-culture references handled better than they often tend to be in books like this.I can definitely see why some people didn't like this book. It didn't paint a great picture of Australian/western society or of human nature in general, and racist and sexist terms and thoughts are sprinkled liberally throughout. But it seems clear to me that this in no way reflected the author's view and although there were a few moments in which I felt a bit shocked I never felt actively offended or that the book had gone over the top.On the other hand, I just don't believe that most people are quite as unpleasant as the book suggests. For me the main downside of the book was the way many of the characters were handled. It sometimes seemed that many of them were fronts to discuss the authors concerns about society, leading to some tipping dangerously close (though I think the author always managed to just prevent this) to being one-dimensional stereotypes.It was clear who the author's favourite characters were. One girl for example makes a false claim of rape and this seems to be brushed over, another drinks too much at a bar after a hideous day and is demonised. In particular, I thought that making Harry (the man who delivers the titular slap) be so utterly unpleasant was a bit of a cop out - the central "should he or shouldn't he have?" question would have been much more powerful and interesting if he'd been a decent man who snapped rather than someone who, in his point of view chapter, seems to be fantasising about violence constantly, to the extent that he came across as a pantomine villain.Still, despite a few problems, I thought this was ultimately an interesting, unusual and enjoyable read.

The slap occurs early in the book as a parent deals out some instant punishment to a misbehaving child, but crucially not his own. The incident brings a barbecue for friends and family to a premature and fractious end. As the characters disperse we follow some of their lives giving a selective perspective on modern Australian, or at least Melbourne, life.These lives, if representative, give an unflattering picture of booze and drug fuelled infidelity, abuse and selfishness. As the narrative moves from one person to another the differences between what they think and what they say, and what they know they should do and what they actually do, are laid bare.What will be the outcome of it all? Who, if anyone will get their just desserts and who will get away with it all and emerge unscathed?The structure of the book is unusual and interesting - offering sequential slices of the unfolding storylines from the different protagonists. The narrative maintains interest but I found the dialogue crude at times; both in relating the many sexual encounters and in references to racial origins. This may of course be normal in the antipodes.Indeed it is normality of it all that is most unsettling. Is this tolerance or a less positive shoulder-shrugging acceptance of imperfect behaviour – this is how real people live their lives so just get over it and move on?The exception to this tolerance is the slap itself which reverberates through the book, destined to have a more serious effect on relationships than all the other, more premeditated, misdemeanours.[See my weekly reviews each Friday on abibliodyssey.blogspot.com]

I know this book was seen as very controversial, especially for people who have children. I don't have children and I actually really enjoyed this. It's the multiple perspectives I found so interesting, seeing the situation from all the different angles, especially those of the different generations. I think most people react strongly to the language in the book - lots of swearing - but I would say: try and see past that. You get to see the situation from a lot of people's point of view. Some of them swear, some of them don't. Maybe if you find one or two of the characters that abhorrent, then skip their chapter! The most interesting of all to me was the mother of the slapped child. This book made me think differently about disputes like this one where everyone takes sides and gets involved and what's really behind it all.