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 “startling” novel, Christos Tsiolkas turns his unflinching and all-seeing eye on to 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. This book made for an interesting evening at Pageturners book discussion on Wednesday with reactions ranging from “nothing redeeming” to “couldn't read it” to “characters are really believable”, to “glimpses of brilliance”, “expected more about the incident”, “I spent the weekend reading this and wouldn't want to invite any of these people to a barbecue”, “I kept reading to see what would happen to Hugo” (the brat child), “loving it” and “it is a book I would never have read unless I came along to book club, thank you”. The Slap will be featured on the ABC Book Show on May 5 and as predicted by Pageturners is also on the Miles Franklin Literary Awards longlist. Pageturners meet next on Wednesday April 8 from 5.30pm – 7pm to discuss works by and about US President Barack Obama.