The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas

His eyes still shut, a dream

dissolving and already

impossible to recall.

Opening to

The Slap

by Christos Tsiolka

The Slap by Christos Tsiolka begins at an afternoon barbecue in suburban Australia.  Family, friends of family and their children gather together  with the usual blend of affection and affectation. Everyone gets along until three-year-old Hugo threatens another child with a cricket bat.  The threatened child's father, Harry, takes the bat away only to be kicked by Hugo whom he then slaps. Once.  The other children are relieved that an adult has finally disciplined Hugo who has been spoiling their fun all afternoon.  Some of the adults quietly agree while the rest are horrified at Harry's sudden violence.  The police are called. Charges are filed.  The repercussions of Harry's action are both long lasting and devastating.

And they make for a fascinating read that kept me up past my bedtime. 

Mr. Tsiolkas is interested in how his characters react to what Harry has done.  While the book moves forward in a traditional linear fashion, showing what happens to those at the party, the narrator shifts focus from one character to another when the chapters change.  We begin with Hector,  the barbecue's host, who does not really like either Hugo or Harry.  Hugo is the son of his wife's good friend Roxie.  Hector believes Hugo is spoiled, raised by parents who don't know what they're doing.  His mother is still breast feeding Hugo at age three.  Hugo's father, Gary, gets drunk every chance he can.  The slapper, Harry, is Hector's brother-in-law, tolerated because he is family but no more admirable than Gary.  Hector knows Harry should not have hit a child, but he also believes Roxie and Gary go too far when they press charges.

Already most readers will have taken a position of their own, sure that they are correct. ( Be honest, you have haven't you?)   How can the morality of such an action be anything but clear cut?

However, as the narrative shifts from character to character, the reader is forced to reconsider what happened at the barbecue.  Through the mixture of characters, Mr. Tsiolkas gives us many points of view, from that of first generation Greek immigrants, to native Australians both white and Aboriginal, from teenagers to grandfathers.  Of course everyone brings their own baggage to the table, including the reader.  Mr. Tsiolkas lets none of us off the hook easily.  Part of what makes The Slap such a compelling read is the way the reader is made uncomfortable.  You think you know enough to make a judgement, but wait, what about this?  Don't you need to consider what this character is like or what this other character has done in the past?   

POSSIBLE SPOILER FOLLOWS

The book ends with a second slap.  Again, an adult hits a child, but this time there is no grey area.  This time no one will file charges with the police; no repercussions will be felt.  The child slapped will learn his lesson and move on with his life.  No hard feelings.  This time everyone will be okay with the same act of violence that occurred in the opening scene.  In the end it's not the slap that upset everyone but the circumstances around it.  Who slapped whom and why matters much more than the act of violence.  What makes The Slap such compelling reading is not the position the author takes on the issue, in fact I doubt readers will be able to determine the author's view. What makes The Slap compelling is the way it forces readers to reexamine the position they took the moment the first slap occurred.