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Indecent Exposure Tom Sharpe 9780871131423 Books

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Indecent Exposure Tom Sharpe 9780871131423 Books

This is still a very funny book, surely a gold-standard member of the British humour club. It was released in 1976 and it must have been regarded as terribly risqué then.
Tom Sharpe was a masterful writer. The story, of course, is absurd but that's one of the things I enjoyed about it. It's a short, (dare I say it) Sharpe read and if you feel the need to escape from reality for a few hours, I couldn't recommend a novel more highly.
I'm sure some of my high school English teachers would have had palpitations to read some of his sentences. (I counted six or seven instances of 'and' in one sentence). And his use of adverbs far exceeds what is fashionable nowadays. But I sense he broke these rules for effect -- because he clearly knew what he was doing. I wouldn't mind being half-as-good a writer.
He conjured up some great characters. The central one is Henry Wilt, who is wonderfully obtuse.
He made good use of stereotypes too (yes, some police really were that dumb years ago) (having worked for a while in academia I saw no evidence that academics would mend their factional back-biting ways in a hurry, so they ring quite true on the book) (Americans did seem a bit odd back then) (and I'm sure Wilt's wife would have got over her fixation for Harpic toilet cleaner).
He throws all these characters together and we get to see how they interact! The result is one hell of a comedic novel.


Tags : Indecent Exposure [Tom Sharpe] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <div>A blazing satire of South African apartheid, Indecent Exposure is Tom Sharpe's brilliant follow-up to his Riotous Assembly. Once again the setting is Piemburg,Tom Sharpe,Indecent Exposure,Atlantic Monthly Press,0871131420,Humorous stories,Humorous stories.,Police - South Africa - Fiction,Police;South Africa;Fiction.,Satire,Satire.,FICTION General,Fiction,Fiction - General,GENERAL,General Adult,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945),Modern fiction,Police,South Africa

Indecent Exposure Tom Sharpe 9780871131423 Books Reviews

If you haven't read any Tom Sharpe, this is as good a place to start as any. If you like your farce dark and laced with acid, if your view of life is on the absurd end of the spectrum, and if you tend to believe that if there is a God, then a) she doesn't really give a flying fig about us, and b) we haven't quite caught on to her sense of humor yet, then this is the book for you. I won't give any of the plot away. I'll only say that I laughed out loud literally half a dozen times (and I mean "literally" in its proper usage), and that if ever the community college instructors and non-tenured adjuncts of the world unite, we will march under the banner of "Wilt!"

BTW, I recommend the mid-70s paperbacks if you can get them for the R. Crumb-inspired cover art. Adds to the enjoyment.
First, you have to imagine that it is possible to mix the concepts of apartheid and aversion therapy and end up with anything that is even remotely potable. And then you must mentally leap a rather tall gate into the garden of the absurd. "Prickly" doesn't even begin to describe the result.

Sharpe's incomparable biting satire oughtta be against the law ... as, it turns out, it was ...

Deviously, wickedly funny farce, this.
I came across this book while reading an article on the "10 funniest books of all time." Of course there are inevitable arguments about what should or should not be on that list, but the fact that I was ready for a humorous read after several excellent but depressing WWII novels, Wilt looked worth a try. Briefly, Wilt is a career underachiever at the small Fenland College of Arts and Technology. Continually passed over for promotions and pay increases, his life is on a dead end path consisting of teaching classes no one else will take to vocational students working in labor professions, i.e. butchers, bricklayers, etc. who are only attending because the government is covering their costs and it gets them out of work for a while. Wilt sleepwalks through these classes, having given up on trying to expose this underclass to literature at any level. But, as it turns out later, his exposure to these rather rough but street smart and rather plain spoken (yes, there is sexual language) group actually prepares him for the travails he will undergo later in the book.

His marriage to his wife Eva is equally dissatisfying. She is convinced he will never amount to anything - and frequently reminds of him of this shortcoming. She envisions herself as an enlightened woman, constantly pursuing (but never sticking with) various yoga, meditation, and similar "new age" interests. Wilt's life, in short, is dreary, repetitive, and wholly unsatisfying. One of his outlets, in a sort of "Walter Mitty" turn, is to take his dog for walks and not only dream of, but logically think out plans to get rid of Eva. He sorts through various ideas, from poison to auto accidents to - whatever. They are more stress relief efforts; his desperate attempt to at least visualize a better life.

The real story begins when Eva meets a new age couple, the Pringsheim's, Sally and Gaskell. They are unbearably pretentious and off the map sexually liberated. Eva is of course entranced, and Sally senses that Eva can be manipulated (sexually and otherwise), and as a result Wilt and Eva attend a party at the Pringsheim's house. It involves nudity, crude language and acts (the only part of the book I found less than satisfying was the Pringsheim's - they are definitely "not likable," but do serve as a good foil and plot device for the story). It is at the party that Wilt, as a result of machinations by Sally Pringsheim, becomes 'attached' to an inflatable female sex doll, "Judy." And the real story begins...

Wilt ends up leaving the party to go home to find a way to "unattach" himself from the doll, while Eva ends up (liberal amounts of alcohol involved) leaving with the Pringsheims on a boating trip. Wilt, not overly concerned about Eva's absence and unknown whereabouts, decides to use "Judy" as a means to practice his plans for getting rid of Eva. This leads to "Judy" ending up at the bottom of a construction hole at Fenland College, and Wilt being investigated for the murder of Eva. His adversary is Inspector Flint. The remainder of the book focuses on his conversations with Inspector Flint and others in their efforts to get him to confess to Eva's murder.

The interaction between Wilt and Inspector Flint (and his other police peers) is hilarious. The satire is marvelous and entertaining. The interesting part is that Wilt, a career sub-achiever, finally comes into his own. He knows he is innocent, and as the investigation goes on (filled with endless police mixups, wrong assumptions, and an exasperating inability to break down Wilt), Wilt gains confidence and a sense of self worth for the first time in his life.

The ending, as is the entire book, is entirely satisfying and appropriate. This is inimitable British satire, done well. Aside from the off-putting Pringsheims, the characters are well drawn (in a caricature manner) and the central humor, again, is the bumbling police vs. the suddenly inimitable Wilt. I laughed a lot throughout, and think you will as well. It is a light read, and a good break from reading "heavy" novels. I wouldn't put it in the class of Wodehouse, but it certainly does have elements of his writing style. Read it and enjoy.
If you like your humor borderline slapstick, you'll enjoy this offering from Tom Sharpe. For me, it felt more like reading a screen play. Some of the characters that came to my mind were, Wilt Peter Sellers. Inspector Flint Rowen Atkins. Dr. Board John Cleese. The Vicar Marty Feldman.
The text is quite dated from the early 70s, aside from that I found it a fun read. Just about everything that could possibly go wrong for Wilt, does. And with every turn of the page our hapless hero, Wilt is consumed by a job he hates and hasn't seen a raise in over a decade. His wife Eva is a goodhearted simpleton who's lured into the swingers lifestyle of Dr.Pringsheim and his liberated wife Sally. The Wilts are invited to the Pringsheims' for a barbeque. Henry Wilt does not want to go. Eva can't wait to get there, in her new neon lemon loungers. From the time they arrive, they soon realize they're total outsiders as the other guests are dressed for a swingers party. The craziness ensues shortly thereafter. Henry Wilts life is about to change forever. A fun read with several loud belly laughs.
This is still a very funny book, surely a gold-standard member of the British humour club. It was released in 1976 and it must have been regarded as terribly risqué then.
Tom Sharpe was a masterful writer. The story, of course, is absurd but that's one of the things I enjoyed about it. It's a short, (dare I say it) Sharpe read and if you feel the need to escape from reality for a few hours, I couldn't recommend a novel more highly.
I'm sure some of my high school English teachers would have had palpitations to read some of his sentences. (I counted six or seven instances of 'and' in one sentence). And his use of adverbs far exceeds what is fashionable nowadays. But I sense he broke these rules for effect -- because he clearly knew what he was doing. I wouldn't mind being half-as-good a writer.
He conjured up some great characters. The central one is Henry Wilt, who is wonderfully obtuse.
He made good use of stereotypes too (yes, some police really were that dumb years ago) (having worked for a while in academia I saw no evidence that academics would mend their factional back-biting ways in a hurry, so they ring quite true on the book) (Americans did seem a bit odd back then) (and I'm sure Wilt's wife would have got over her fixation for Harpic toilet cleaner).
He throws all these characters together and we get to see how they interact! The result is one hell of a comedic novel.