Book # 3

The third book I've read this year was the modern Australian novel by Christos Tsiolkas The Slap.  I read it because it's received a lot of publicity and was made into an Australian mini-series.  The moral dilemma/what would you do? premise was intriguing: 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.

Sadly, I didn't enjoy it.  Not at all.  The characters range from unlikeable to despicable; annoying to pathetic.  Stereotypes and prejudices are exaggerated.  Even with the characters that I could somewhat tolerate, I still didn't find myself caring a whole lot about the outcome of their situations.  Maybe that's the point:  when surrounded by negativity, bad things happen.