I know that things have been quiet on the blog here and I’m sorry. Truly.
We are in the midst of a living technological nightmare – just ask my teens! Once again, emphasis most certainly on AGAIN, we’ve run out of internet downloads for the month and the speed at which we’ve been shaped down to makes dial-up look positively supersonic. I jest not. If this shaping business is a ploy to have me cave and purchase an extra block of data at the cost of $20something per gig it’s just not going to work as I’m digging my heels in and decided that we’ll suck up this snail’s pace until next week. That’s when things should return to normal and for God’s sake please, please don’t get me started Mr NBN on metro-comparable services. This is really only the superquick abridged version of a crap-internet service story that has been 6 years in the making. Vent almost over.
In the time that I’ve had this week – time where the net drops out entirely and when a cached web page takes longer to load than a front loader cycle (true story), I’ve had the opportunity to catch up on a bit of reading. Believe me when I say it was wiser for me to step away from the computer and relax with a cuppa and a book than wait by the computer with frustration and thoughts of dropkicking the machine out the window. In considering the brightside, our new internet month clicks over early next week and at the end of next week we are scheduled for a new (and they say improved …) satellite installation.
A few more sleeps …. a few more sleeps … I think we can ….. I think we can ….. can you sense that my self-relaxation techniques are fully engaged?
So …. as I was saying, there has been opportunity to catch up on a little reading and The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas was recommended (and loaned 
) by a friend who had also seen the ABC production of the same. I’d not heard anything of it but jumped right in and now can hardly put it down.
At a suburban barbecue one afternoon, a man slaps an unruly boy.
The boy is not his own.
Told through the eyes of eight of those present at the barbecue, this acclaimed best seller is an unflinching interrogation of the life of the modern family. Poignant and provocative, The Slap makes us question the nature of commitment and happiness, compromise and truth. Whose side are you on?
It’s incredibly multi-cultural Australian and extremely thought provoking. There are many little sub-themes and issues to keep the reader hooked and I’m a fan of this depth in a tale. I’m undecided though if I’m entirely satisfied by the how the narration is divided into the perspectives of individual characters BUT at the same time I am appreciating the extra insight into character development that this is bringing. Doubt that I will seek out the TV Series as I’m not wanting to be disappointed by the translation.
Although The Slap is at times coarse, even possibly crude, it IS certainly a gripping story that has suckered me right in. I’m not sure exactly how I’d react given the circumstances that these characters find themselves in. Much food for thought though.
Have you read this or seen the TV Series? If so, what are your thoughts?? I’d love to know! What book do you have your nose in at the moment?
