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 event.
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 and its consequences force them all to question their own families and the way they live, their expectations, beliefs and desires.
Nine out of 10 times, a book club discussion will serve up surprises. And not necessarily through opinions alone ... at times the surprise comes from whom those opinions are expressed.
Our March book The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas was always going to prove somewhat of a challenge. The language, violence and sex content were more than what we usually indulge in, and yes, all these issues were included in our discussion. But the acceptance level from some of our readers was amazing. Jeanette in particular thought it to be a remarkable book. She found all the characters believable and especially enjoyed the Monolis chapter, in which we see the goings-on through the eyes of Greek immigrant grandparents.
Nancy found the story to be a very good depiction of our society; with our main motivation being greed and the belief that we are entitled to whatever we want. Something I think we were all generally in agreement with.
There was much talk about the male characters (not surprising in an all female group!) with comments such as despicable, morons and ugly. Not exactly endearing descriptions, but they were spooned out along side comments including clever, well drawn, gritty and honest.
It certainly proved to be a challenging read for our group. Some believed the author took on too much here, but whether you love or hate these characters, they are sure to produce a strong and emotional opinion in all but the most faint-hearted of readers.
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