A smart, biting, topical novel about our modern life in the public eye and relationships.

Philip Sharpe is a balding, chubby philosophy professor, who is so oblivious to the intricacies of actual human contact that you will likely spend much of this novel screaming for him to open his eyes and get what he did wrong, what his actual "slip" was. And you will be tortured by his thick-headed ways and his incredible dickishness. And you will love it and enjoy it in the end, because Sampson writes a novel so timely, so plugged into the current (and eternal, actually) events, that's it hard not to relate to it.

Sharpe is this pathetic, unlikable half-person half-dictionary of a narrator, using big words to mask the fact that he is lost in the most basic aspects of his life. His expensive home is a mess, his beautiful loving wife is rightfully mad at him, his alcoholism is not even out in the open, it's basically half of his personality. And as you start out loathing him and his incredible obliviousness to events around him (I am still fuming at how long it takes him to get what's going on, honestly), you may think "Am I supposed to find compassion for this sad sack?". But with each flashback, each wound inflicted on his status and pride, and each stupid, misguided thought, you start to see that, perhaps, Philip is, against all odds, not that unlikeable. It's a character study that eventually turns into a study of society as a whole. The way Sampson just throws caution to the wind and starts to furiously tackle the insecurities and problems that we all face is gloriously refreshing, while also profoundly uncomfortable. It's hard not to squirm when the attention turns to something that you recognize yourself doing.

The book, after starting out as a seemingly cynical portrait of a scumbag, ends up being a cautiously optimistic look at sexism, love, media crises, and what it means to be a "good" person. And if you feel that it doesn't provide solid responses to some of the questions, well, it pushes you to think about these issues and come up with your own viewpoint. And that is a valuable quality in a book that tackles such sensitive topics. This is not just a one-man soapbox show from Sampson, it's a plea for the reader to think and turn the critical gaze inwards.

My main problems would lie with the writing style, which is regularly obnoxious, as it simulates Sharpe's haughty intellectual persona. But it's hard to take off points for something that is wholly intentional and, ultimately, serves to make the book more expressive.

Overall, an excruciatingly frank look at the modern society and the modern man. Funny, sad, and enraging at the same time, an original book that needs to be read. Or, alternatively, that you need to read, it could only serve to make you more aware of the current affairs.

One line review of Mark Sampson’s “The Slip”: Clever, hilarious, and timely.
When Philip Sharpe, a philosophy professor at the University of Toronto, gets into a verbal sparring match with a female rival during a television debate, he loses his cool and makes some angry, sexist comments that light up social media – and the rest of the world.
Before he even leaves the studio, friends and colleagues begin shunning him, people on the street stare at him in scorn as the gaffe goes viral, and friends and strangers alike flood his social media pages. In the hypersensitive university climate where he teaches, students, administrators, and colleagues turn hostile, organizing rallies against him and demanding apologies.
Philip seems baffled by the outcry, especially when his young wife Grace begins to question him. As the pressure outside mounts, the already strained marriage is stretched to the limit.
Author Sampson makes it all fun as the read sees the story through clueless, often pompous, Philip’s eyes. The story is a brilliant a send-up of over-the-top political correctness and the power of viral media. Adding to the fun is a great twist at the end. A fun read!