‘The Slap’ on TV

Wednesday, 28 September 2011 Unlocked content from the archive. Books+Publishing

The first episode of the eight-part mini-series adaptation of The Slap (Christos Tsiolkas, A&U) is due to air on ABC1 on Thursday, 6 October at 8.30pm. Each episode, like the book, focusses on the lives of eight different characters. The first is episode is about Hector, a handsome and financially secure man in his early 40s, married to the beautiful veterinarian Aisha, with two children and adoring Greek working-class parents, yet for the past year he’s been having an affair with 17-year-old Connie, part-time assistant to his wife.

The relationships can get complicated, so we thought we would post the family tree the ABC has provided to help you get your head around all the characters and their connections (see below).

The Slap has been an incredibly popular book, winning a slew of awards including the Commonwealth Writers Prize, the ALS Gold Medal and the Booksellers’ Choice Award. Bookseller Scott Whitmont reviewed the book for us back in September 2008 and said ‘it would not be inappropriate to describe it as a contemporary Australian masterpiece’. Here’s hoping the television series is a masterpiece of its own. You can read Whitmont’s full review here.

Of course, The Slap isn’t the only book by Tsiolkas to reach the screen. His debut novel Loaded (Vintage) was adapted to film as Head On in 1998, starring Alex Dimitriades as Ari. In The Slap, Dimitriades will play Harry. Fans of Tsiolkas should also look out for the movie adaptation of Dead Europe (Vintage), which is currently in production by See Saw Films. The film will be directed by Tony Krawitz, best known for his production Jewboy.

Keep up-to-date on twitter by following @theslaptv and tweeting the hashtag: #theslap.

Category: Fancy Goods Reviews