The Slap - Christos Tsiolkas

The Slap
Christos Tsiolkas
Allen & Unwin
A group of people are gathered at a suburban Barbecue. During the afternoon an incident between one of the guests and a four year old result in consequences that directly, or indirectly, affect all who are present.

Told almost as collection of short stories through the perspective of eight characters, all with different background, age, ethnicity and value systems, The Slap is a provocative, unflinching novel that explores our inner most beliefs and the conflicting issues we face.

I enjoyed having a different portal in which the same situation had been explored. Hearing the different points of view shows there is no black or white situation - that our beliefs are a sum of all our life's experiences.

The Slap is hands down my clear favourite amongst this year's Australian fiction and if there is any justice in the world, the judges of The Booker & The Miles Franklin Award will agree.