The Slap Review

Volume 36, 2009 premiers (Wran, Unsworth and something of that old-fashioned Carr). All, of course, were Labor sense of duty in Churchill's character leaders, and Freudenberg makes no alongside his arrogance, deviousness, secret of his Labor sympathies and and petulance. especially his admiration for Prime Minister Curtin during the war years. Nonetheless, he is generally even-handed in his judgements of political figures of whatever party allegiance. The only exceptions are the Labor "rats," in particular the foremost "rat" of all, Billy Hughes. Jean-Fran çois Vernay Even at this distance in time, it seems that the party faithful cannot remain neutral on - let alone THE SECRET LIVES forgive - Hughes for splitting the OF THEM Labor Party in 1916. Freudenberg characterises himself Christos Tsiolkas. The Slap. Sydney: as a member of "the last Australian Allen & Unwin, 2008. ISBN: 978 generation that, in adolescence, 1 74175 359 2. 488 RRP: $32.95 took being British for granted" pp.488 Paperback. (vii). Perhaps it is partly this generational perspective that allows The Slap, Christos Tsiolkas's fourth him some measure of appreciation novel, is clearly at odds with the of the ambivalences in Churchill's offbeat rebellious voice, the narrative attitudes toward Australia. Though stamina, the hyperactiveness of his critical of Churchill's imperious previous flamboyant characters and and high-handed manner in his the confronting subject matters dealings with Australian leaders, standing for the hallmark of his Freudenberg concludes that fiction. However, as most obsessions Churchill genuinely believed that die hard, The Slap is yet again an he had "a solemn responsibility to indictment of contemporary society the Australian people" (537). It was delving into the secret lives of sex- a patrician sense of responsibility, obsessed characters looking for cop- suffused with the assumption that outs in a drug-infested Australian his British Empire vision trumped culture. Plotwise, the content and the parochial and self-interested structure of The Slap smacks of outlook of Australia. It is a sense soap opera culture which informs of responsibility not readily the narrative from cover to cover. appreciated in Australia today. Yet The expository first chapter sets the it is a measure of Freudenberg's scene for a family and friends get- literary skill that he able to convey together in a suburban Melbournian 183 riT'%" Reviews backyard. Coincidentally, the The lack of clear judgement mingled crowd of merrymakers hosted with some kind of crass generalisation by Hector and Aisha showcases a and amalgamation expose the carefully well-balanced sampling characters' arguments as an exercise of Australia's multicultural society. in blowing hot air. Anouk reckons The party turns sour because a that "maybe he shouldn't have seemingly domestic incident - a slapped Hugo but what he did was non-family related adult has slapped not a crime. We all wanted to slap Hugo, a spoiled brat raised by an him at that moment" (77). Connie overprotective mother - triggers goes one step further by saying: "I a nonsensical psychodrama which don't think an adult has any right to is blown out of all proportion and physically abuse a child, that's what climaxes in a far-fetched lawsuit. I think" (173). Rosie, unmistakably besotted with her child, consoles In a nutshell, the kids were having Hugo: "That awful man who hit you a game of iconic Aussie cricket and has been punished. He got into such Hugo did not accept defeat. His big trouble. He's never going to do father Gary stepped in to reason such a thing again. He's going to the child but "the boy looked as jail" (281). Manolis feels not without if he was going to hit his father reason that "Harry had been a fool with the bat" (40). Harry, another to hit a child, but the little brat had grown up witnessing the scene, had deserved it and it had not been a more energetic response as "he anything, just a slap" (331). In a lifted the boy up in the air, and in crescendo of hysteric opinions, the shock the boy dropped the bat." eponymous incident is exaggeratedly (40). It is noteworthy that, to this turned into child abuse and even into point, no violence has marred the assault (385) but everybody loses sight situation. Then "Harry set him on of the fact that the only lesson one can the ground. The boy's face had gone draw from this mundane incident is dark with fury. He raised his foot that violence begets violence. In point and kicked wildly in Harry's shin" of fact, the slap was an emotional (40). Exasperated Harry, who was response to a physical attack and one not in a mood to turn the other might understand why Harry being cheek (nor shin for that matter), physically assaulted by Hugo did slaps the obnoxious child. End of not decide on ridiculing himself by story. Well not quite for Tsiolkas suing Hugo for abuse or assault - who exploits this domestic episode to a decision which would be deemed imagine a narrative which ties neatly out of place and disproportionate by together the various viewpoints of common assent. Conversely, Tsiolkas's seven guests present at the barbeque: turning of tables, which presents Hector, Anouk, Connie, Rosie, Harry as the victimiser and Hugo as Manolis, Aisha, and Richie. the victim, is at once ludicrous and nauseous. And one fails to understand 184 Volume 36,2009 how a writer can, no matter how bleached his dirty realism through good he is, expect to entertain and a process I would call "ethical stimulate his readers over 480-odd cleansing." And, amazingly, it has pages on such triviality paid off since this Melbourne-based author has won the first major prize And perhaps this is why the slap in his literary career: i.e. the 2009 and tickle scenes are there for - to Commonwealth Writers' Prize. spice up an otherwise tedious plot. However, this achievement might be The Slap is Tsiolkas's first attempt seen as a Pyrrhic victory because this to give pre-eminence to warts- toned down novel has alas neither and-all depictions of straight sex the freshness and sprightliness when most of his previous novels of Loaded nor the complexity and were an exploration of gay sexuality. ambitiousness of Dead Europe. To But it does not sound right. One all intents and purposes, The Slap jarring note among others is that ends up robbing readers to pay Tsiolkas has projected the pervasive Christos, but if it takes this sacrifice male cannibalistic fantasies in Dead to acknowledge - even belatedly - Europe onto a female character in the novelist's writing skills, readers The Slap and imagines straight sex can always slap the book on the table to be animalistic. When Anouk and and eagerly wait for the next one. Rhys engage in sexual intercourse, Tsiolkas writes: "She wanted to bite him, scratch him, devour him. Puck me, she ordered him sharply now, and she wondered, is this how a man understands sex? This ravenous animal desire?" (60). Marie Ramsiand Christos Tsiolkas has so far lived up to his reputation of being the A PANORAMIC SURVEY enfant terrible of Australian fiction OF THE - an enfant terrible who probably got a slap on the wrist when he AUSTRALIAN NOVEL realised his heretical subject matter prevented him from winning any major prize such as the Miles Jean-Francois Vernay. Panorama dii Franklin Award. To be able to write roman australien des origins a nos The Slap - a novel expunged from jours 1 831-2007. Paris: Hermann, same-sex depictions, exposed anti- 2009. ISBN 978 2 7056 6803 7. Semitic ideas, sexual deviances such RRP: 25 Euros. pp.250. as zoophilia or coprophilia, nihilism, and so many other confronting and This concise volume of 250 pages repelling subjects - Tsiolkas has provides a wealth of valuable 185 .

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