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The Slap
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What do you think of BBC4s adaptation so far?
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Rhiannon
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rated it 3 stars
Nov 07, 2011 02:55AM
I enjoyed this book - the focus on each main character and their perception of the slap was a really interesting way to structure the novel. I did think though that there was a huge amount of betrayal and violence amongst such a small and tightly-woven group of people..... I think the tv adaptation is pretty good although it moves at such a slow rate, I do get a bit bored. Perhaps, though, it's because I already know the storyline and what's going to happen next. The cast is good and actually resemble on the whole how I pictured the characters. What do you think?
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Usually I prefer the book over the TV program/movie but it's the opposite for me. When I read the book, I thought it had a good storyline but the way it was written I thought it would be much better as a TV drama and then it became one. I don't have BBC4 on my TV so I'm watching it online. The actors really potray the characters well based on the book. They all look like I had imagined them and it's very closely based on the book which I like.
I didn't like the book and like the tv series even less.
The adaptation is coming to its last ep here in Sydney. I think eight shows is a bit of an ask for the work at hand. (It's an Australian production shown on the BBC, incidentally.)Out of all the episodes, the ones that focus on Harry (Alex Dimitriades) and Manolis (Lex Marinos) have been the best - though that's possibly because those two seem to be the most engaged in their characters. There's some beautiful scenes in the Manolis ep, featuring an ailing friend - just wonderful.
I'm not convinced that Melissa George was right for the role, and Sophie Okonedo seemed to lose all acting ability in the episode last week that dealt with Aisha's affair.
The problem with the series is, I think, that each episode had a different scriptwriter and a different director. I can see why they've gone for it - to get different people to really pull at the threads of individual characters - but it seems to result in a lack of cohesion. At this point I just want it to be over, I think.
Has anyone watched the UK TV series on E4 called Skins? It's about teenagers but The Slap reminds me of it. It's like an adult version, lol.
I liked the TV series much more than the book, although as Lynley said, I think reading the book ahead of time helped to explain what was happening. The characters are all dispicable in a soap opera sort of way, but if you go into it knowing that, it's entertaining.
In both the book & the TV series, I really wanted to see a chapter/episode from Sandy's point of view. That was a major piece of the story missing for me.
TV Series quite different from the book. I liked both but quite different.
Loved the book, detest the shambolic tv adaption, so much so that I abandoned it after the first ep.
"At this point I just want it to be over.." Exactly how I felt when reading the book.
I had no idea that it's being shown on TV, though. Must see if I can catch it.
Lauren wrote: "Has anyone watched the UK TV series on E4 called Skins? It's about teenagers but The Slap reminds me of it. It's like an adult version, lol."I loved Skins. With it's focus on being responsible/irresponsible, it seems like a good comparison to the subject matter of The Slap. Maybe that's why I disliked ALL the adult characters in this book? Only the teenagers were likeable.
Still, I haven't seen the TV series yet.
As bad as the book which takes some doing
I have to say I am a little torn about the book. I did enjoy it, if "enjoy" is actually the correct word. I liked the fact that the back stories of the characters was explained with their family ties, etc. I hope I'll be able to see the TV series here in the U.S., so far, as far as I can tell, it's unavailable in the States.
I didn't enjoy the book one little bit, the characters were totally unlikable and I couldn't really care about any of them by the end! Except to say that with each character being so flawed themselves there was a heck of an outcry about "The Slap" Everyone getting on their high horse, when none of them were squeaky clean!
I haven't read the book but stumbled accross it on abc.I was hooked. The one character I didn't like was Aisha.
She always had this creepy look on her face with the corners of her mouth pointing down. She managed a smile when she was flirting with the vet dude and finally got to see how beautiful she is. Her personality though, uptight and self righteous (ugh).
The reason I loved the series is because it was an unsentimental raw and blunt insight into the lives of ordinary people.
A lot of readers seem to miss the point that we all have a dark side. I find the superficial and shallow genre boring, which is why I loved this so much.
Some people are frustrated that it didn't have a happy ending - welcome to the real world!
Maybe I am living in the wrong century, or am just the wrong age, but I found the ubiquitous practice of sex, drugs and rock and roll at almost all generation and status levels in the book, rather depressing. It left very little hope for our future. 'Ordinary people' I know aren't all made that way, thank goodness.Even the use of a couple of acute character studies didn't help to change my opinion so watching a tv production was no option for me.
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