Robert J. Wiersema's latest novel, Bedtime Story, is a story within a story within a story. After novelist Christopher Knox begins reading a lost fantasy book by one of his favourite childhood authors to his eleven year old son David, the boy suffers a seizure and enters into a trance-like state. Like Wiersema's first release, Before I Wake, the author writes about the lives of an unresponsive child (his first protagonist is in a coma due to a hit-and-run accident) and the unknown world where lost souls dwell.

Christopher, despite opposition from his estranged wife, deduces it is the story of the book itself, To The Four Directions by Laurence Took, which has caused David's condition; Chris attempts to battle the magic embedded in the book. Bedtime Story intertwines Christopher's mission, the fantasy novel itself, and David's story while trapped in the novel, where he meets other lost readers. They layering of stories builds up into a climax worthy of classic fantasy and horror novels!

Despite its depressing and gloomy plot, I completely understand the accolades and award nominations (and wins!) for Emma Donoghue's latest novel, the thoroughly gripping Room.

This dark story, similar to real life ones heard recently in the news, is told from the perspective of six year old Jack, who lives in Room,and only in Room, with his mother. Occasionally, there are visited by Old Nick, who abducted Jack's mother several years ago. Other than that, Jack has not had contact with the outside world. Television shows him stories and the news, but he cannot fathom the reality behind them, that there is a huge world outside this eleven-by-eleven foot enclosure. His only friends are the inanimate items he sees on a daily basis; Plant, Wardrobe, Snake (made from empty eggshells)... While trying her best to survive in this stunted environment, and keep Jack as healthy as possible, his mother is also working on a plan of escape.

As well as a compelling read, Room is an eye-opener; Donoghue touches on so many simple things that we on the 'outside world' can take for granted. Jack has never seen the sun, felt the air, run in a straight line rather than the circles around Rug. His mother, limited in basic needs by Old Nick, must prioritise what foods and essentials she asks for, thus depriving Jack of toys, sufficient clothing, and, perhaps most shattering, only five books (shudder).

Room is a novel that not only thrills, it had an underlying message for me that, with love and strong emotional support, you can survive. Sure, Jack and his mother did not enter this situation willingly, but it speaks that material things, to achieve bigger and better, means nothing without someone who can get you through the worst. Throughout the novel, Jack, as narrator, provided an innocent perspective, one without hate, or envy, or regret, which gives a hopeful twist to this terrible tale.

A group of friends are gathered for a relaxing afternoon barbeque at the suburban home of Hektor and Aisha. At some point, one of the guests slaps the young child of another couple. The party quickly ends, but the repercussions of that action continue into the near future in the aptly named The Slap by Australian author Christos Tsiolkas. Although the party is attended by an extensive group of people (almost too extensive to introduce in the opening pages), Tsiolkas narrows the personal stories to eight characters, some directly involved in the incident, and some only secondarily affected.

I found The Slap to be a gripping, compelling book, although I can't say I like the writer's crudeness (some parts I found uncomfortably so, particularly when he was speaking for the female characters). I also found the characters' personal morals almost non-existent; while many wear the sheen of being good, going beneath the surface reveals that they are far from it. I think I would have liked the book better if the characters' storylines had been intertwined rather than told in blocks of chapters.

What I did like was the result in their personal lives of this one quick act: everyone has an opinion about it. Some couples are able to support each other, some are violently opposed in opinion. Some are able to forgive and move on; others are mired in bitterness and revenge. Some agree that the child required discipline which his parents were not providing; others feel that an adult hitting a child is unjustified in all circumstances.

It was also interesting to find where my sympathies were directed in regards to the incident. In that respect, the book was an eye-opener. In other respects, it's a good, quick read with a meatier topic than my usual summer choices.