Bookseller Reviews
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Contoversial topic!
A truly fantastic read!
I was intrigued by this title as it always raises the pertinant question "to slap or not to slap?"
The setting for the said action ... READ MORE
Hideous People !
I just did this for bookclub and we had a roaring debate on the language used. Yes, they are Australian, but the 'c' word was used far too much and for all... READ MORE
Synopsis
WINNER OF THE COMMONWEALTH WRITERS' PRIZE 2009
LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2010
'A tremendously vital book in every sense.' - Sunday Times
At a suburban barbecue one afternoon, a man slaps an unruly boy.
The boy is not his son.
It is a single act of violence, but the slap reverberates through the lives of everyone who witnesses it happen.
Christos Tsiolkas presents the impact of this apparently minor domestic incident through the eyes of eight of those who witness it. The result is an unflinching interrogation of the life of the modern family, a deeply thought-provoking novel about boundaries and their limits...
Publisher information
- Publisher: Atlantic Books
- ISBN: 9781848873568
- Number of pages: 496
- Dimensions: 200 x 130 x 32 mm
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allDishearteningly unrealistic? Let's hope so...
This book is about its characters and not really about the rights and wrongs surrounding the Slapping incident referred to in the book's title and the back... READ MORE
A missed opportunity
We chose this as our January read for our book group. We thought it would be an interesting book about the social consequences after an adult slaps another... READ MORE
Disappointing. Over-rated.
I looked forward to reading this book due to all of the hype surrounding it.
I read poor reviews, but started the book with an open mind.
Firstly, there ar... READ MORE
Dont bother
At the begining there is a lot of charactors to get your head around, I had to keep going back to find out who was who. the plot was very boring (the title... READ MORE
A good holiday read
It's not a masterpiece, despite what the cover quotes say, but neither is it misogynistic as has been claimed in the press, as there are some very strong f... READ MORE
The Slap
Really struggled to get into this book, despite recommendation from others . Found it fairly boring and did not finish it. Would I advise others to buy thi... READ MORE
Unfinished and misleading !!
I was looking forward to reading a book that tackled a moral issue such as smacking a child. I was highly disappointed though as what was described as the ... READ MORE
Hugely Disappointing
Annoying, terribly middle class characters whom you will care less about than your dentist.
There are sections of the book which are very readable, but th... READ MORE
The Slap
You ask me not to use profanity in my review, yet the book uses the most basic words you can imagine, and this from an Australian author who is rated very ... READ MORE
Brilliant!
I loved this book, as did my other half. Wonderful characters, the booked just sucked me in. I raced through it, loved it & have recommended it to lots of ... READ MORE
Different!
I read this book as I was going to see the author at The Edinburgh Book Festival- with hindsight it would have been better to have heard the author first. ... READ MORE
Don't believe the hype.
This book conflicts with me on so many levels. Yes I'm glad I read it, but I didn't enjoy it and I certainly wouldn't recommend it. Hurrah, it didn't seem ... READ MORE
The Slap
I am still struggling to get through this book and have mixed feelings about even trying. Some passages are interminably long and seemingly irrelevant to t... READ MORE
Don't bother...
I was looking forward to seeing how such a controversial subject as hitting a child would be dealt with and, to be perfectly honest, all I got was sex, fou... READ MORE
Not what I expected
I was dissapointed by this book. I found the frequent use of profanity distateful. I did not feel like the event was covered in any depth. The characters w... READ MORE
Variable
Once I finished reading this book my thoughts about it were varied. I found the idea intriguing - that of a boy being slapped, out of the blue in the 21st ... READ MORE
Does not focus on the ethical dilemma of the slap
I do believe that in all my years of reviewing books I have never given a book just a single star, as I always try to find a redeeming quality in it to pus... READ MORE
horrid book
this is probably the worst book I've ever read. The blurb is quite misleading and doesn't give a true reflection of the book. This is one of the few books ... READ MORE
Wonderful book
This book was recommended by my daughter who lives in Melbourne, where the book is set and I read half of it on a flight to visit her in preference to the ... READ MORE
BEACH BOOK
A collection of stories centred around a single incident. Some of the characters do not evolve as much as others and some stories appear unfinished. But ov... READ MORE
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