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The Slap Christos Tsiolkas 9781741753592 Books

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The Slap Christos Tsiolkas 9781741753592 Books

I was drawn to this novel after watching the first two episodes of the NBC television version, and before deciding to purchase it, I read about half the posted reviews. "The Slap" is one of those books that readers claim to love or hate. It focuses on Melbourne's large Greek community and tells the story of an incident that happened at a birthday BBQ and its aftermath as experienced by eight of its central characters - all whom are affected by the incident in different ways. In that sense, the novel has eight protagonists.

A guest at the BBQ, Hector, slaps a small, dangerously misbehaving child, Hugo - enraging Hugo's parents and setting off a chain of events that changes the lives of many of those present. Many of the other reviewers were put off by the author''s "gratuitous" use of sex throughout the novel as a mechanism for moving the plot forward. I was, as well. In fact, after a couple of chapters, I found myself skimming through the crudely drawn sexual episodes and the over-abundance of "c*nt" and "f*ck" and just getting on with the story. And it's a good one because it describes, better than any novel I've read recently, the effect that judgment and greed and jealously and anger have warped our modern day lives.

As you can see by the reactions of many of the reviewers, "The Slap" is a book that invites the reader's judgment of its characters, and one that also invites us to forgive them as we begin to understand the motives behind their actions. As I read through this book, I found myself. again and again, returning to earlier chapters as I began to see the characters in a new light. The Slap is a book I'll read at least once more.

I'm giving the book four stars because of my reaction to the author's overuse of crude sexuality and because the story redeemed it. Normally, I would have put the book down after two or three chapters, but the story propelled me forward through my desire to understand the characters more fully.


Tags : The Slap [Christos Tsiolkas] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. 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,Christos Tsiolkas,The Slap,Allen & Unwin,1741753597,BER16437

The Slap Christos Tsiolkas 9781741753592 Books Reviews

I started reading the book because I saw there was going to be a new series on TV, and I wanted to see what it was about. I was very surprised I couldn't put the book down the author took something as simple as a slap at a barbecue and made it riveting. The characters were phenomenal and you loved to hate them.
I really wanted to like this book. Reading it felt like a tortuous homework assignment. The slap itself is so minimized. The characters are unlikable. The rampant use of drugs by the adults and kids alike is not really believable and grossly irresponsible. The graphic sex scenes and use of the c word feels like overkill. In the end very little is resolved and learned. With I had taken the negative review more seriously. I'll never get that wasted time reading this back.
Although I have given this book five stars, it's only for the way in which it was written, which is brilliant, easy to read and really gives a personal insight into each individual. I couldn't put the book down because I was waiting and waiting for something nice to happen but sadly it didn't, I was terribly disappointed in the individuals in this book and how they lived, 'loved!!!!'- if you could call it that and treaded others with such loathing. The brothers were disgusting, unsympathetic, judgemental, self loathing individuals who showed such a lack of respect for so many, including their own families. I feel great pity for the author. I am so glad that the vast majority of us don't treat others so callously and are weaklings and gutless. The lack of compassion, understanding, acceptance most of all and respect was so strong throughout I was very happy to get onto another book that was the polar opposite to this one. If you love a book filled with sadness and have main characters who are cruel and judgemental I highly recommend this book to you.
The premise of this book was very interesting and I enjoyed the chapters devoted to the development and point of view of each character present at the barbeque. It was interesting to see my own point of view (or sympathies, or understandings) evolve based on the different observers' experience of the single event, and how their own lives shape their experience of that same event.
Not everyone will take to this book. Readers may find this novel offensive on any number of levels and blame the book. These behaviors can happen anywhere.
If you are curious about looking at a slice of another culture that itself is multicultural, you might find this book quite readable. What is most interesting about the book is that every character is flawed, and most, if not all aren't very nice people. They are all struggling with life, with their individual situations in life, and sometimes with each other, and for that one can recognize and extend a real measure of sympathy to them. There are types rather than stereotypes in the novel whom local readers can readily identify. The grandfather is the most likable character, yet even he has ghosts in his past that follow him into his present. Raw and real.
Wow! What a great story as told through the eyes of many. I love how Tsiolkas includes the elders of the family and their stories, including their emigration to Australia and their lives as young men and women. The novel is not just one story but many stories. The reader learns the background of each character and how it ultimately shapes their reaction to, "the slap". I did not watch the miniseries on TV. I have the characters formed in my mind and do not want those impressions changed. I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy reading the back-story of characters and how their experiences formulate their reactions.
I was drawn to this novel after watching the first two episodes of the NBC television version, and before deciding to purchase it, I read about half the posted reviews. "The Slap" is one of those books that readers claim to love or hate. It focuses on Melbourne's large Greek community and tells the story of an incident that happened at a birthday BBQ and its aftermath as experienced by eight of its central characters - all whom are affected by the incident in different ways. In that sense, the novel has eight protagonists.

A guest at the BBQ, Hector, slaps a small, dangerously misbehaving child, Hugo - enraging Hugo's parents and setting off a chain of events that changes the lives of many of those present. Many of the other reviewers were put off by the author''s "gratuitous" use of sex throughout the novel as a mechanism for moving the plot forward. I was, as well. In fact, after a couple of chapters, I found myself skimming through the crudely drawn sexual episodes and the over-abundance of "c*nt" and "f*ck" and just getting on with the story. And it's a good one because it describes, better than any novel I've read recently, the effect that judgment and greed and jealously and anger have warped our modern day lives.

As you can see by the reactions of many of the reviewers, "The Slap" is a book that invites the reader's judgment of its characters, and one that also invites us to forgive them as we begin to understand the motives behind their actions. As I read through this book, I found myself. again and again, returning to earlier chapters as I began to see the characters in a new light. The Slap is a book I'll read at least once more.

I'm giving the book four stars because of my reaction to the author's overuse of crude sexuality and because the story redeemed it. Normally, I would have put the book down after two or three chapters, but the story propelled me forward through my desire to understand the characters more fully.