AustLit

'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.' (Publisher's blurb)

'Romy Kilkenny loves her life in Australia - she has her dream job, a fun lifestyle, and best friend Keith who understands her better than anyone. Best of all, she couldn't be further from her family. But when a phone call summons her home at short notice, Romy's world is turned upside down.

'Romy has never fitted in, and with Keith too far away to give comfort, she feels like more of an outsider than ever. She also worries that the accidental half-kiss with Keith at the airport may have lost her the greatest friend she's ever had.

'What on earth has Romy let herself in for?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.