Minutes June Book: The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas

The Slap

by Christos Tsiolkas

(Chosen by Domestic Goddess)

Domestic Goddess chose this book so that she could (in her own words) "maintain her record of picking sh*tty books." She introduced the discussion of the book with a disclaimer that she was in no way related to the author or the publishers. She had no personal links to the book, and therefore No.1 Ladies should not apologise for not liking the book, or for having critical views of it.

More seriously however, she explained that she had chosen the book after reading some rave reviews of it and hearing excellent word-of-mouth recommendations. Reading the blurb on the back cover, she was intrigued by the concept.


Christos Tsiolkas is the son of Greek migrants, and was born in Melbourne in 1965. He grew up in a predominantly Greek inner city suburb of Melbourne. He has an Arts degree from the University of Melbourne and has worked as a writer, artist and film maker.

His first novel Loaded was published in 1995. (It was later made into a film, Head On.) His next novel The Jesus Man was published in 1999, followed by the critically acclaimed novel Dead Europe in 2005. The Slap was published in 2008 and has reached bestseller status.

While writing The Slap, Tsiolkas began working as a veterinary nurse. He lives in Melbourne with his partner of 24 years.


(general biographical detail from First Tuesday Book Club.)


What the publisher says about the book:

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 twenty-first century. The Slap is told from the points of view of eight people who were present at the barbecue. The slap and its consequences force them all to question their own families and the way they live, their expectations, beliefs and desires.What unfolds is a powerful, haunting novel about love, sex and marriage, parenting and children, and the fury and intensity - all the passions and conflicting beliefs - that family can arouse. In its clear-eyed and forensic dissection of the ever-growing middle class and its aspirations and fears, The Slap is also a poignant, provocative novel about the nature of loyalty and happiness, compromise and truth.

What we discussed about the book:

• What were the overriding themes of this book: parenting, love and sex, fury and violence, family values, suburbia, class, loyalty, drugs, fidelity, youth...?
• Did any of the characters have warm aspects? Did we empathise with any of them?
• Was it difficult to keep track of the characters as they moved through the plot?
• The actual slap: was it a retaliation or protection of his own child?
• The language used was very abrasive and 'in your face' - did this alienate us as readers? Were we offended?
• Was the language one-noted? Did we find any diffentiation in the voices of the characters?
• Was there any degree of intimacy in any of the sexual relationships? Was the behaviour credible for 40-something year olds or did it seem adolescent?
• Was the sex in this book, "man-sex"? Blokey? Lacking in gentle intimacy? Was it erotic?
• Were the characters (particularly Harry) in any way self-reflective? Was there any growth as a result of the events?
• What did the No.1 Ladies of Greek heritage think about the portrayal of Greek-Australians in this book - particularly the men? Was Koula's behaviour acceptable? Was Aisha disrespectful of Manoli?
• Was longterm breastfeeding used as a device to make Rosie unlikeable? Was this fair?
• What were Gary and Rosie's responsibilities in the bbq/slap event? Did they meet their responsibilities?
• Did we think any of the characters were a reflection of the author himself? Anouk? Nick?
• Could we relate to any of the characters?
  

And then we were sidetracked into:

• Is this book "a satanic version of Neighbours"?
• In what ways was this a political comment on "Howard's middle class"?
• What is the "middle class"? Is it easily defined in 21st century Australia?
• Were we tricked by the set-up of the slap at the beginning of the book into expecting something different from what the book delivered?
• How different would this book have been if Harry did not have a history of domestic violence and had been an otherwise reasonable man who on this one occasion had crossed the line?
• What are the rights of children? Are children as adequately protected from emotional/verbal abuse as they are from physical abuse?
• In what ways can children's rights and adults' responsibilities come into conflict?
• What is it about Perth that disconnected characters in novels (e.g. Aisha, Rosie) often come from Perth? Is the distance used to create that sense of disconnection?
• Why does this book win so many awards and critical acclaim?
• Was this book just TOO MUCH?

And in other news we discussed:

• How many of us read births and obituraries in the newspaper? We discussed the Greek-Australian tradition of reading the funeral notices regularly.
• The Greek inability to say the word, "cancer". Instead it is called "kakia" - the bad one/ the bad disease.
• There was much hilarity among the Greek No.1 Ladies when it was suggested that your brother-in-law's father-in-law is a distant relation...apparently that is not the case at all. That is a close relation.
• CH announced that, after 17 years with the one employer she has resigned. Her employers were suitably disappointed. Initially, she will be taking time off to spend with the kids - from whom she has asked for some performance criteria to measure her progress against!
  

Ratings:

Pre-discussion ratings range: 0 to 8
Post-discussion ratings range: 0 to 6.5
Pre-discussion ratings average: 5.2
Post-discussion ratings average: 4.7


Next book: The Book of Emmett by Deborah Forster (chosen by KE)