The Slap

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This article is about the novel. For the television series, see The Slap (TV series).
The Slap

First edition cover
Author Christos Tsiolkas
Country Australia
Language English
Genre Novel
Publisher Allen & Unwin, Australia
Publication date
 2008
Media type Print (Paperback)
Pages 483 pp
ISBN 978-1-74175-359-2
OCLC 265244779
Dewey Decimal A823.3 22
LC Class PR9619.3.T786 S53 2008
Preceded by Dead Europe

The Slap is a novel by Australian author Christos Tsiolkas.

Plot summary

At a barbecue in suburban Melbourne, a man slaps a three year old boy across the face. The child, Hugo, has been misbehaving without any intervention by his parents, "the steely-eyed Rosie and the wimpish Gary".[1] The slapper is Harry, cousin of the barbecue host and adulterous businessman whose slightly older son, Rocco, is being threatened by Hugo. This event sends the other characters "into a spiral, agonising and arguing over the notion that striking a child can ever be justified. Some believe a naughty boy should be taught some discipline, others maintain the police ought to be brought in to investigate a common assault"[1] with a range of positions in between.

Themes

A judge of the Commonwealth Writers Prize, Nicholas Hasluck, described The Slap as "a controversial and daring novel" which examines "identities and personal relationships in a multicultural society" and "taps into universal tensions and dilemmas around family life and child-rearing".[2]

Structure

The story is told through the voices of eight characters, in third person and each in a chapter of their own. "The reverberations of the slap ... [are told] chronologically through each character's story".[3] The characters range from two Year 12 students to a 71-year-old man, and comprise four males and four females. Reviewer Windsor writes that "As an architectural device, this is inspired. With their narrowed focus, the individual stories, up to 80 pages long, have an intensity to them that a conventional comprehensive narrative could not have come near."[3]

Main characters

  • Aisha: a 40-something, Anglo-Indian veterinarian, a competent mother and efficient homemaker who also runs her own vet clinic.
  • Hector: Aisha's Greek husband, cousin to Harry. Host of the barbecue at which the "Slap" of the title occurs.
  • Adam and Melissa: children of Aisha and Hector.
  • Connie: Year 12 student who works in Aisha's vet clinic and is having an enigmatic affair with her boss' husband, Hector.
  • Richie: Connie's gay best friend.
  • Harry: Hector's cousin, perpetrator of the "Slap". A self-made man who has worked hard to build a large, luxurious home; owns several garages.
  • Sandi: Harry's Serbian wife. Loyal and devoted to Harry.
  • Rocco: Son of Harry and Sandi. Around eight years old.
  • Kelly: An indigent mother-of-several, with whom Harry has an extra-marital affair. Kelly supplies Harry with cocaine; Harry pays Kelly's gas, water and electricity bills.
  • Van: a Vietnamese DVD pirate, Kelly's business partner.
  • Rosie: childhood friend of Aisha, a white Australian, working-class, full-time mother to Hugo. A somewhat smothering parent who, at the same time, takes a laid-back approach to discipline. Presses charges against Harry for assaulting her child.
  • Gary: Rosie's husband – an alcoholic father.
  • Hugo: Son of Rosie and Gary. Three to four years old and still being breastfed. Hugo badly misbehaves (due largely to poor parenting) and is the victim of Harry's slap when he physically attacks Rocco.
  • Anouk: childhood friend of Rosie and Aisha. The only one of the threesome who is single and childless. More career-driven – a soap-opera scriptwriter. In a relationship with Rhys, the star of a soap-opera, who is around twenty years younger than her.
  • Manolis: elderly Greek patriarch, father of Hector. Shares a close relationship with his daughter-in-law Aisha, but takes a diametrically opposed stance to her regarding the slap, supporting his nephew Harry.
  • Koula: elderly Greek matriarch, mother of Hector. Believes family should be held in higher regard than all other things. Takes an extremely disparate view of her daughter-in-law Aisha. Very gossipy. Fully supports Harry's actions regarding the slap.
  • Elisavet: Sister of Hector, daughter of Manolis and Koula. Divorced with two young children: Sava and Angeliki.

(italic print signifies the eight characters whose points of view are given in the novel's different sections.)

Awards and nominations

  • ALS Gold Medal, 2008: winner[4]
  • Commonwealth Writers Prize, 2009: winner for Best Book[2]
  • Miles Franklin Literary Award, 2009: shortlisted
  • Nielsen BookData Booksellers' Choice Award, 2009: winner[5]
  • Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction, 2009: winner[6]
  • Man Booker Prize 2010: longlisted

Adaptation

The eight-part television series, The Slap, is an adaptation of the book. Its filming commenced in January 2011 and first screened on Australian television channel ABC1 from October 2011.[7]

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Armanno, Venero (2008, 8 November) "Smack dab in the middle class", The Australian
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2009 Overall Winners
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Windsor, Gerard (31 October 2008) "When the smoke clears", The Sydney Morning Herald
  4. ↑ ASAL is pleased to announce the 2008 prize winners, 12 July 2009
  5. ↑ The Slap wins Bookseller's Choice Award
  6. ↑ Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction – 2009 Winner
  7. ↑ Brady, Nicole (28 May 2009). "The Slap gets nod for small screen". The Age. Retrieved 28 September 2011. 
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