The Slap – Christos Tsiolkas

From Storygraph: To smack or not to smack is the question that reverberates through the interconnected lives dissected in Christos Tsiolkas’ award-winning novel.

At a suburban barbecue, a man slaps a child who is not his own.

It is a single act, but the slap reverberates through the lives of everyone who witnesses it.

Told through the eyes of eight of those present at the barbecue, this acclaimed bestseller 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?

My Thoughts: This was one of those buzzy books when it came out but I never got around to reading it until now. The characters are mostly awful. Each chapter was written from the perspective of a different character. It was like looking at a slow motion car crash, so I didn’t want to put it down but the sex scenes written from the female perspective by a man really bugged me. Every one of them read like a male fantasy of what a female is thinking and feeling about sex. 2.5 stars.

Carpentaria – Alekis Wright

From Storygraph: Carpentaria is an epic of the Gulf country of north-western Queensland. Its portrait of life in the precariously settled coastal town of Desperance centres on the powerful Phantom family, leader of the Westend Pricklebush people, and its battles with old Joseph Midnight’s renegade Eastend mob 2007 on the one hand, and the white officials of Uptown and the neighbouring Gurfurrit mine on the other. Wright’s storytelling is operatic and surreal: a blend of myth and scripture, politics and farce.

My Thoughts: This reminded me of some of the classics (esp Les Miserables) where the story is interupted with frequent asides (related but tangential to the plot). It is beautifully written, dense and long so ended up being a slog when I was 3 days to having to return it and 30% left to read. Mythic and dream elements are interspersed with real life (maybe that is an artificial distinction here). I really enjoyed the wrapping of Aboriginal mythic elements with a modern day mystery/adventure and the far north Queensland setting. This is a Miles Franklin Award Winner. 3.5 stars.

The Ballad of Falling Dragons – Sarah A. Parker

From Storygraph: Raeve’s thirst for vengeance continues to burn, as does her love for Kaan Vaegor – a staunch beacon from a past she’s yet to face. With Rekk’s blood still fresh on her hands, she learns the world will face its most devastating moonfall yet, forcing her to pick a path:

Chase death.

Or life.

Desperate to save his kingdom from ruin, Kaan’s crown has never felt so heavy. His many larks to scattered friends and family remain unanswered, and time is running out.

As allies merge and enemies surge with bloodlusting agendas of their own, secrets brew hot enough to burn, but none so mighty as the truth nesting within the icy depths of Raeve’s long forgotten past.

Something … Other.

Something with the knowledge to change it all.

My Thoughts: My daughter almost exclusively reads Fantasy and she often passes on her books to me after she’s finished reading. This is one of her books. It’s the second in the series and I actually started reading it thinking it was in a different series and was very confused. I googled a recap of the first book and then it all clicked into place. This is a Romantasy so I did do a little bit of skipping over, but I’ve found this aspect in this series a lot less annoying than in other books. In these at least the sex scenes do have aspects of character development. The multiple viewpoints works well in this and the plot moves along at a good pace which made it a very enjoyable read. 4 stars.