Ophelia Field

Australian Unfair

The Slap

By

Atlantic Books 485pp £12.99 order from our bookshop

This bestselling winner of last year’s Commonwealth Writers’ Prize is largely set in suburban Melbourne during John Howard’s recent premiership. Dozens of characters are introduced in the first chapter as they arrive at a barbecue, one of many Australian clichés challenged and confirmed in equal measure. This party is the setting for the dramatic slap of the title, delivered by a man to a spoilt young child.

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