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Piemburg #1
Riotous Assembly
Tom Sharpe’s savagely funny first novel is set in South Africa, where the author was imprisoned and later deported. When Miss Hazelstone of Jacaranda Park kills her Zulu cook in a sensational crime passionnel , the hasty, rude members of the South African police force are soon upon the Kommandant van Heerden, whose secret longing for the heart of an English gentleman leads to the most memorable transplant operation yet recorded; Luitenant Verkramp of the Security Branch, ever active in his search for Communist cells; Konstabel Els, with his propensity for shooting first and not thinking later—and also for forcing himself upon African women in a manner legally reserved for male members of their own race. In the course of the bizarre events that follow, we encounter some very esoteric perversions when the Kommandant is held captive in Miss Hazelstone’s remarkable rubber room; and some even more amazing perversions of justice when Miss Hazelstone’s brother, the Bishop of Barotseland, is sentenced to be hanged from the ancient gallows of the local prison. Not a “political� novel in any previously imagined sense, Riotous Assembly provides a completely fresh approach to the horror of South Africa—an approach at once outrageous and startling in its deadpan savagery. Along with Indecent Exposure , this does for South Africa what Swift’s A Modest Proposal did for Ireland.
249 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
159 people are currently reading
1,970 people want to read
About the author
Tom Sharpe
84books543followersTom Sharpe was an English satirical author, born in London and educated at Lancing College and at Pembroke College, Cambridge. After National Service with the Royal Marines he moved to South Africa in 1951, doing social work and teaching in Natal, until deported in 1961.
His work in South Africa inspired the novels Riotous Assembly and Indecent Exposure. From 1963 until 1972 he was a History lecturer at the Cambridge College of Arts and Technology, which inspired his "Wilt" series Wilt, The Wilt Alternative, Wilt on High and Wilt in Nowhere.
His novels feature bitter and outrageous satire of the apartheid regime (Riotous Assembly and its sequel Indecent Exposure), dumbed- or watered-down education (the Wilt series), English class snobbery (Ancestral Vices, Porterhouse Blue, Grantchester Grind), the literary world (The Great Pursuit), political extremists of all stripes, political correctness, bureaucracy and stupidity in general. Characters may indulge in bizarre sexual practices, and coarser characters use very graphic and/or profane language in dialogue. Sharpe often parodies the language and style of specific authors commonly associated with the social group held up for ridicule. Sharpe's bestselling books have been translated into many languages.
His work in South Africa inspired the novels Riotous Assembly and Indecent Exposure. From 1963 until 1972 he was a History lecturer at the Cambridge College of Arts and Technology, which inspired his "Wilt" series Wilt, The Wilt Alternative, Wilt on High and Wilt in Nowhere.
His novels feature bitter and outrageous satire of the apartheid regime (Riotous Assembly and its sequel Indecent Exposure), dumbed- or watered-down education (the Wilt series), English class snobbery (Ancestral Vices, Porterhouse Blue, Grantchester Grind), the literary world (The Great Pursuit), political extremists of all stripes, political correctness, bureaucracy and stupidity in general. Characters may indulge in bizarre sexual practices, and coarser characters use very graphic and/or profane language in dialogue. Sharpe often parodies the language and style of specific authors commonly associated with the social group held up for ridicule. Sharpe's bestselling books have been translated into many languages.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 271 reviews
July 5, 2020
Sharpe´s first novel is one of the darkest, most politically incorrect and at the same time important, sarcastic masterpieces, satirizing the inhumanity of South Africa´s Apartheid era.
There are no sympathetic characters in this work, close to everyone except for one rare abnormity, is a racist, brutal, and self righteous antagonist, producing running gag incompetence based dangers for themselves and everyone around them while executing racist laws. Not sure if this is still funny or already more of a tragedy, the laughing doesn´t feel right or good, it´s more a reflex out of the long time conditioning for black humor in my case, or a first reflex after realizing what is going on, after the general comedy tropes are used in such an unused and out of context way.
The sexual content seems a bit over the top, I guess Sharpe added it to give it the extra provocation to produce even more outcries than with his other monstrous protagonists. Although I guess that there are people out there that may be more offended by the violence and naughty elements than by the satirized system.
One could not sell such a work nowadays, because misunderstood and misled political correctness makes it impossible to publish something with extremely drastic content to show how cruelty has long been an essential element of a governmental system.
Don´t get me wrong, emancipation and equality is the way to roll, but avoiding full explicit descriptions of how racists think, limits the options for showing the inherent evil of all kind of prejudices. Although just certain audiences should read such works, because everyone faint of hearth won´t be able to deal with this unique, very long introspectives into the minds formed out of something seen far too often in human history. Seriously, if you can´t handle extreme satire, better don´t read it, it will just disturb or disgust you.
I will certainly read the second part
/book/show/5...
that even includes some element of making fun of fringe humanities, something I do always appreciate.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
There are no sympathetic characters in this work, close to everyone except for one rare abnormity, is a racist, brutal, and self righteous antagonist, producing running gag incompetence based dangers for themselves and everyone around them while executing racist laws. Not sure if this is still funny or already more of a tragedy, the laughing doesn´t feel right or good, it´s more a reflex out of the long time conditioning for black humor in my case, or a first reflex after realizing what is going on, after the general comedy tropes are used in such an unused and out of context way.
The sexual content seems a bit over the top, I guess Sharpe added it to give it the extra provocation to produce even more outcries than with his other monstrous protagonists. Although I guess that there are people out there that may be more offended by the violence and naughty elements than by the satirized system.
One could not sell such a work nowadays, because misunderstood and misled political correctness makes it impossible to publish something with extremely drastic content to show how cruelty has long been an essential element of a governmental system.
Don´t get me wrong, emancipation and equality is the way to roll, but avoiding full explicit descriptions of how racists think, limits the options for showing the inherent evil of all kind of prejudices. Although just certain audiences should read such works, because everyone faint of hearth won´t be able to deal with this unique, very long introspectives into the minds formed out of something seen far too often in human history. Seriously, if you can´t handle extreme satire, better don´t read it, it will just disturb or disgust you.
I will certainly read the second part
/book/show/5...
that even includes some element of making fun of fringe humanities, something I do always appreciate.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
June 2, 2022
Sidesplitting, rib-tickling, rollicking. Riotous Assembly was my first exposure to Tom Sharpe. As I was reading I asked myself: who does this author remind me of? Then it hit me. Of course! None other than Mad Magazine’s maddest artist, Don Martin. I mean, take a look at the above illustration for this Tom Sharpe novel and the two Don Martin cartoons below. No doubt about it � Tom Sharpe and Don Martin share much of the same outrageous, over-the-top, darkish, rubbery sense of humor.
Don Martin was my absolute favorite back when I was a kid. I gobbled up all his gleeful slapstick. So I suppose it is no surprise I took an instant liking to wacky, waggish Tom Sharpe. However, I certainly can appreciate such zaniness and imbecility, frequently dark in the extreme, is not for everyone. As one British critic commented: “If getting a taxidermist to stuff your grandfather and blowing up a neighbor’s house by pumping gas up his lavatory pan are your taste in jokes, then Mr. Sharpe is your man. If not, not.�
A bucketful of differences, obviously, between a panel cartoon and a novel but I so wish Don Martin worked on an illustrated edition of Riotous Assembly with its scathing satire revolving around South African apartheid, torture and executions complements of a police force and lurid sexual perversions complements of an old lady. Instant collector’s item.
But probably not a collector’s item in South Africa, at least among government officials back in 1971 when the novel was first published since Tom Sharpe got himself kicked out of the country some years prior for his anti-apartheid writing. Also worth noting, Riotous Assembly is the first of two novels targeting South African society, the country’s police force in particular, Indecent Exposure the second. In years thereafter, Tom Sharpe took aim at English society.
Back on Riotous Assembly. We’re in small, sleepy Piemburg, a South African city described by a visitor from the US as “Half the size of New York Cemetery and twice as dead.� Because so much of comedy is bound up with individual personality, author Tom treats us to an entire lineup of screwball characters. Oh, yes, even sluggish, slumbering Piemberg has its share. Among their number:
Kommandant van Heerden: Bumbling incompetent chief of police, stanch supporter of apartheid South Africa and lover of England and all things English. He’s at the mansion of wealthy English heiress Miss Hazelstone to deal with a sticky situation: the frail old lady admits to using a quadruple-barreled elephant gun to blow her colored cook Fivepense to smithereens. As she also reveals, Fivepense was her lover for the past eight years.
The Kommandant gives the necessary orders to hush up such a society-shattering, preposterous revelation, after all, the honor of Piemburg is at stake. If van Heerden only knew he would soon be stuck in a sticky situation of his own, as in dangling from a second story window, handcuffed to a bed, wearing a rubber mask and woman’s nightgown. Loony? Deranged? Welcome to the world of Tom Sharpe.
Konstabel Els: An absolute expert in operating his Electrical Therapy Machine to extract confessions. “His natural aptitude for violence and particularly for shooting black people was only equaled by his taste for brandy and his predilection for forcing the less attractive parts of his person into those parts of African women legally reserved for male members of their own race.� Just the man to guard Miss Hazlestone’s estate under van Heerden directions to shoot to kill. Els takes his job seriously, relishing every blast from his rifle. The result: 125 dead police. Good going Els! Now the Kommandant has a true catastrophe on his buffoonish hands. He might even be demoted.
Luitenant Verkramp: After receiving his orders from Kommandant van Heerden, this conscientious police officer leads an army to Miss Hazelstone’s estate, complete with a column of lorries and armored cars as well as signs announcing Bubonic Plague and an outbreak of Rabies. Unfortunately, Konstabel Els will take him for an enemy of the state. Or, is that enemy of the estate? In either case, Verkramp and his army will not return in one piece, and that’s understatement.
Sergeant de Kock: Exactly what is needed at the home of Miss Hazelstone � another officer of the law. As author Tom Sharpe writes: “The Sergeant was by no means a squeamish man and not in the least averse to shooting women. Plenty of Zulu widowers could attest to that.� As soon as the Sergeant arrives on the scene he lets off a volley from his gun aimed at the sky that results in his being covered in the feathers and guts of a very well-fed vulture (recall all those dead police). And there’s more high jink and horseplay afoot for the Sergeant, enough that, a the very least, he stands a good chance of getting shot himself.
Miss Hazlestone: Would you believe this little old lady orchestrates a reenactment of a decisive battle between a redcoat English infantry and Zulu warriors on the parade-ground of an insane asylum where hundreds of mental patients, black and white, participate with great enthusiasm? After all, what’s the harm since the all those hopped up Zulus are armed with only rubber spears. Wait a minute � those spears might be real! The spectators for this event could be in store for a bit of bloody bloodshed with all the crazies turned loose on one another. Is there anybody in the house not completely nuts?
Jonathan Hazelstone, Bishop of Barotseland: The fall guy. It's not long before the Bishop is being marched out to the gallows to be hanged. And to think, his execution could be part of well thought out plan to take his healthy English heart as a transplant for someone who truly needs it: none other than the one and only Kommandant van Heerden. The ups and downs, mostly downs, of Jonathan are among the more hysterically funny parts of the novel.
From The Guardian: "Sharpe was keen on the idea of both writing and reading as fun." After reading Riotous Assembly, I certainly concur.
British novelist Tom Sharpe, 1928-2013
"'It's someone who dresses up in rubber nighties and hangs out of other people's bedroom windows soliciting people below.' continued the Sergeant plucking feathers and lights off his uniform. 'It's also a product of the permissive society and as you all know South Africa is not a permissive society. What this swine is doing is against the law here, and what I suggest is that we shove a bullet or two up his arse and give him the thrill to end all thrills.'" - Tom Sharpe, Riotous Assembly
December 10, 2008
This book is simply hysterical. It is difficult to recommend to people as they tend to give you a very strange look when you explain that it is a satire of apartheid South Africa written by a white South African. This book is an exemplary piece of modern satire. The first time I read it, I was commuting on a public train and was laughing out loud the entire time. My mother and I would read it out loud to each other and laugh so hard we cried. In some parts it was impossible to read aloud because we were laughing so hard we couldn't breathe. I read the sequel but was disappointed. What was razor sharp criticism dulled to caricature - I would advise sticking with this book and avoiding the sequel. (for the record, Sharpe was eventually exiled from South Africa as a result of his criticism of the government)
August 14, 2024
I had read Wilt when his novels gained popularity, but at the time I didn't read Riotous Assembly. This novel is a ruthless portrayal of the Apartheid regime, delivered with sharp, vitriolic British humor, which led to his arrest for sedition and subsequent deportation. The author spares no one, and the black population is portrayed as the silent victims of the narrative. It is a very politically incorrect novel, and I believe it is good that it is so.
It so happens that the author spent his final years near where I live, in the village of Llafranc ("Costa Brava", Catalonia, Spain). Let this reading serve as a tribute to his work.
It so happens that the author spent his final years near where I live, in the village of Llafranc ("Costa Brava", Catalonia, Spain). Let this reading serve as a tribute to his work.
December 28, 2012
Scene:
A deserted road in New Zealand. In the distance, we see a bus bombing along the highway at high speed, slowing down and then screeching to a halt.
Interior Bus:
Bus driver turns in his seat, a look of concern on his face. We hear a kind of strange wheezing sound, which is both alarming and somehow amusing. Is someone having a heart attack? An epileptic seizure? The bus driver gets out of his seat and approaches the passenger who is making these strange sounds, collapsed onto his side in the empty seat beside him.
Bus Driver: Are you alright sir?
The passenger continues making the strange choking sounds. There are tears running down his face, and he is hiccuping with ... yes, it's definitely laughter.
Mark: Sorry. It's just ... [he points to the cover of Riotous Assembly by Tom Sharpe] ... so ...
Bus Driver: Bloody hell.
A deserted road in New Zealand. In the distance, we see a bus bombing along the highway at high speed, slowing down and then screeching to a halt.
Interior Bus:
Bus driver turns in his seat, a look of concern on his face. We hear a kind of strange wheezing sound, which is both alarming and somehow amusing. Is someone having a heart attack? An epileptic seizure? The bus driver gets out of his seat and approaches the passenger who is making these strange sounds, collapsed onto his side in the empty seat beside him.
Bus Driver: Are you alright sir?
The passenger continues making the strange choking sounds. There are tears running down his face, and he is hiccuping with ... yes, it's definitely laughter.
Mark: Sorry. It's just ... [he points to the cover of Riotous Assembly by Tom Sharpe] ... so ...
Bus Driver: Bloody hell.
May 1, 2019
Βαθμολογία: 9/10
Το "Οργιώδης συνάθροιση" αποτελεί τη δεύτερη επαφή μου με το έργο του Τομ Σαρπ, μετά το "Γουίλτ" που διάβασα τον μακρινό Ιούνιο του 2010, από το οποίο ελάχιστα πράγματα θυμάμαι, όπως είναι λογικό μετά από τόσα χρόνια που έχουν περάσει στο μεταξύ. Λοιπόν, έχουμε να κάνουμε με ένα πραγματικά ξεκαρδιστικό και ένοχα απολαυστικό μυθιστόρημα, για μια ανελέητη σάτιρα απέναντι στο Απαρτχάιντ και το όλο κοινωνικοπολιτικό οικοδόμημα της Νότιας Αφρικής των φυλετικών διακρίσεων.
Από την αρχή μέχρι το τέλος, το βιβλίο είναι γεμάτο τραγελαφικές και εξωφρενικές καταστάσεις, θεόμουρλες σκηνές και τρομερές εικόνες, με την ��ολιτική ορθότητα να είναι πιο απούσα από ποτέ, δόξα να έχει ο Κύριος. Ο Τομ Σαρπ με καυστικό και κυνικό χιούμορ κράζει τους πάντες και τα πάντα, χωρίς να νοιάζεται αν έτσι θίγει τους ευαισθητούληδες της μιας ή της άλλης πλευράς. Η γραφή είναι πάρα πολύ καλή και οξυδερκής, αλλά εντελώς... κανονική, είναι σαν ο συγγραφέας να αφηγείται μια φυσιολογική ιστορία και όχι ένα σύνολο από παρανοϊκές και εξωφρενικές σκηνές.
Από τη στιγμή που μιλάμε για ένα σατιρικό/χιουμοριστικό μυθιστόρημα, μπορεί να πει κανείς ότι δεν είναι για όλα τα γούστα ή/και για όλα τα στομάχια -μιας και το χιούμορ είναι ένα ζήτημα υποκειμενικό-, προσωπικά όμως το όλο στιλ και ύφος του Σαρπ με ξετρέλανε. Στα αδιάβαστα της συλλογής μου έχω μονάχα το "Η μεγάλη αναζήτηση" (αν και κάποια στιγμή θα ξαναδιαβάσω το "Γουίλτ"), ενώ μακάρι να βρω το "Προσβολή της δημοσίας αιδούς" και το "Μην πατάτε τη χλόη". Είναι αρκετά δυσεύρετα, αλλά η ελπίδα πεθαίνει τελευταία...
Το "Οργιώδης συνάθροιση" αποτελεί τη δεύτερη επαφή μου με το έργο του Τομ Σαρπ, μετά το "Γουίλτ" που διάβασα τον μακρινό Ιούνιο του 2010, από το οποίο ελάχιστα πράγματα θυμάμαι, όπως είναι λογικό μετά από τόσα χρόνια που έχουν περάσει στο μεταξύ. Λοιπόν, έχουμε να κάνουμε με ένα πραγματικά ξεκαρδιστικό και ένοχα απολαυστικό μυθιστόρημα, για μια ανελέητη σάτιρα απέναντι στο Απαρτχάιντ και το όλο κοινωνικοπολιτικό οικοδόμημα της Νότιας Αφρικής των φυλετικών διακρίσεων.
Από την αρχή μέχρι το τέλος, το βιβλίο είναι γεμάτο τραγελαφικές και εξωφρενικές καταστάσεις, θεόμουρλες σκηνές και τρομερές εικόνες, με την ��ολιτική ορθότητα να είναι πιο απούσα από ποτέ, δόξα να έχει ο Κύριος. Ο Τομ Σαρπ με καυστικό και κυνικό χιούμορ κράζει τους πάντες και τα πάντα, χωρίς να νοιάζεται αν έτσι θίγει τους ευαισθητούληδες της μιας ή της άλλης πλευράς. Η γραφή είναι πάρα πολύ καλή και οξυδερκής, αλλά εντελώς... κανονική, είναι σαν ο συγγραφέας να αφηγείται μια φυσιολογική ιστορία και όχι ένα σύνολο από παρανοϊκές και εξωφρενικές σκηνές.
Από τη στιγμή που μιλάμε για ένα σατιρικό/χιουμοριστικό μυθιστόρημα, μπορεί να πει κανείς ότι δεν είναι για όλα τα γούστα ή/και για όλα τα στομάχια -μιας και το χιούμορ είναι ένα ζήτημα υποκειμενικό-, προσωπικά όμως το όλο στιλ και ύφος του Σαρπ με ξετρέλανε. Στα αδιάβαστα της συλλογής μου έχω μονάχα το "Η μεγάλη αναζήτηση" (αν και κάποια στιγμή θα ξαναδιαβάσω το "Γουίλτ"), ενώ μακάρι να βρω το "Προσβολή της δημοσίας αιδούς" και το "Μην πατάτε τη χλόη". Είναι αρκετά δυσεύρετα, αλλά η ελπίδα πεθαίνει τελευταία...
June 18, 2020
Poco que decir de la elección del Club 12. Es una comedia del absurdo que me dejaba por partes horrorizado y por partes con necesidad de saber el desenlace. A pesar de la intriga no puedo más que dejarlo en una estrella, no me gustó, en parte el libro en parte el genero.
July 17, 2022
De pas per La Llama Store, li vaig demanar al Kike que em recomanés alguna novel·la que em fes riure. Em costa molt riure en literatura, i encara més amb novel·les. D'entre totes les opcions que em va anar oferint, la més atractiva era aquesta primera novel·la de Sharpe. "La gent el coneix per Wilt, però la realment divertida és aquesta", em va dir. "La pega és que ja res et farà tanta gràcia, després", va afegir.
I la va clavar.
M'ho he passat pipa amb aquesta reunión tumultuosa perquè té les coses que m'agraden de l'humor: és una sàtira d'un sistema polític i social aberrant (l'apartheid) i ho és des de l'absurd, tensant la situació a límits estúpids. La major part de personatges o són imbècils, o egoistes, o psicòpates o les tres coses a la vegada, cosa que dona molt de joc. I Sharpe retorça les escenes més i més i més i després les trenca amb alguna línia de diàleg imprevisible o amb un gir de timó d'allò més boig.
La pega que li he trobat és que la traducció al castellà em fa la impressió que no és del tot acurada, i que ha perdut gran part dels jocs de paraules i segones intencions.
Buscaré Wilt en català, doncs, i seguiré en Sharpe de prop (no literalment, perquè no són maneres, ara mateix, en la seva situació).
I la va clavar.
M'ho he passat pipa amb aquesta reunión tumultuosa perquè té les coses que m'agraden de l'humor: és una sàtira d'un sistema polític i social aberrant (l'apartheid) i ho és des de l'absurd, tensant la situació a límits estúpids. La major part de personatges o són imbècils, o egoistes, o psicòpates o les tres coses a la vegada, cosa que dona molt de joc. I Sharpe retorça les escenes més i més i més i després les trenca amb alguna línia de diàleg imprevisible o amb un gir de timó d'allò més boig.
La pega que li he trobat és que la traducció al castellà em fa la impressió que no és del tot acurada, i que ha perdut gran part dels jocs de paraules i segones intencions.
Buscaré Wilt en català, doncs, i seguiré en Sharpe de prop (no literalment, perquè no són maneres, ara mateix, en la seva situació).
March 14, 2015
I have always loved the work of Tom Sharpe (I constantly regret the day I decided not to see him talk at our local library). The man had such a statical and biting wit born from his own person experiences. This book (and its sequel) are perfect examples of his own experiences shaping a story and personally I feel giving it far more relevance and weight for it.
Normally I would try and shy away from commenting about the story, however I can say that the description of this book (the "blurb") pretty much covers off the plot line, what makes it so much fun is the sheer farcical story, it reads like one set up situation after another. Now normally this would be fun in its own right but Mr Sharpe spent many years living in South Africa at the height of apartheid and was eventually deported from there for speaking out one too many times against it. A lot of the situations although not real where the creation of experiences and personalities he witnessed while working there as a teacher and social worker.
So the truth strength of Tom Sharpe's work, taking aspects of our society and turning them in to a farce yet at the same time not degrading or ignoring the people wrapped up them.
Normally I would try and shy away from commenting about the story, however I can say that the description of this book (the "blurb") pretty much covers off the plot line, what makes it so much fun is the sheer farcical story, it reads like one set up situation after another. Now normally this would be fun in its own right but Mr Sharpe spent many years living in South Africa at the height of apartheid and was eventually deported from there for speaking out one too many times against it. A lot of the situations although not real where the creation of experiences and personalities he witnessed while working there as a teacher and social worker.
So the truth strength of Tom Sharpe's work, taking aspects of our society and turning them in to a farce yet at the same time not degrading or ignoring the people wrapped up them.
December 14, 2014
Hilariante, delirante, de um humor negro completo e surreal�
Uma leitura muito divertida!
Uma leitura muito divertida!
July 24, 2013
Tom Sharpe died last week and it moved me to go back and reread him. And boy does he hold up well. This book, written in 1970, is a brilliant, scathing, savagely funny look at South Africa under Apartheid. If P. G. Wodehouse and Evelyn Waugh had made a baby author, he might have turned out to be somebody like Tom Sharpe - making astute political criticism in a voice that is utterly irreverent, perverse and hilarious.
The plot is absurdly wonderful - an elderly British gentlewoman calls the local police to report that she has shot her Zulu cook in a crime of passion. The responding officers are Kommandant Van Heerden, a dim, hypochondriacal Anglophile, Lieutenant Verkramp, a rabid anti-Communist, and Konstabel Els, a trigger happy sadist, rapist and all around active agent of entropy. The woman, Miss Hazelstone, is the heiress of a family distinguished for being honored in spite of their wretched performance of duty, and she herself is, well, a transvestite with a latex fetish. Mayhem ensues.
There are so many laugh out loud moments, that you almost, but not quite, forget the nightmare that was Apartheid.
"There didn't seem to be any significant difference between life in the mental hospital and life in South Africa as a whole. Black madmen did all the work while white lunatics lounged around and imagined that they were God."
The plot is absurdly wonderful - an elderly British gentlewoman calls the local police to report that she has shot her Zulu cook in a crime of passion. The responding officers are Kommandant Van Heerden, a dim, hypochondriacal Anglophile, Lieutenant Verkramp, a rabid anti-Communist, and Konstabel Els, a trigger happy sadist, rapist and all around active agent of entropy. The woman, Miss Hazelstone, is the heiress of a family distinguished for being honored in spite of their wretched performance of duty, and she herself is, well, a transvestite with a latex fetish. Mayhem ensues.
There are so many laugh out loud moments, that you almost, but not quite, forget the nightmare that was Apartheid.
"There didn't seem to be any significant difference between life in the mental hospital and life in South Africa as a whole. Black madmen did all the work while white lunatics lounged around and imagined that they were God."
March 6, 2016
Dark satirical humour in which Holt shows just how dumb Apartheid was in South Africa by turning everything up to a ridiculous level. Funny enough to make me cry whilst making an remarkable point. I haven't come across many authors that can manage this.
August 1, 2008
Just finished this one and jumped right in to Indecent Exposure. I wish I had discovered this author sooner. It's one of the funniest things I've read in a long time. I'm a little on the sensitive side, though, so was shocked from time to time. I love how the characters will seem to be operating at cross-purposes and end up helping each other. It was a little bit predictable as far as who was going to come out on top, but since the element of suspense is beside the point of the novel, no complaints. And I laughed out loud more than once.
May 16, 2013
This may be the single funniest book I have ever read. While reading, I had to put the book down so many times because there were so many laugh out loud moments, it increased the time it took to read significantly. I read most of this while relaxing in my local pub. During those times I had no less than two complete strangers ask me what I was reading, as the needed to know what could make a person laugh so often and so hard.
Not only should it be on your "To Read" list, it should be moved directly to the top of said list.
Not only should it be on your "To Read" list, it should be moved directly to the top of said list.
March 6, 2014
Simply brilliant
Laugh out loud loudly, frequently.
Had to stop as I was drawing attention to myself on the train
Although it's 40 years old, and (fortunately!!!) apartheid is gone, this is hysterically funny. Not necessarily realistic, but simply a farce (of quite bad taste) that comes from stupidity and failure to communicate. But it does give a (nasty) insight to racism, and pokes such fun at it.
Laugh out loud loudly, frequently.
Had to stop as I was drawing attention to myself on the train
Although it's 40 years old, and (fortunately!!!) apartheid is gone, this is hysterically funny. Not necessarily realistic, but simply a farce (of quite bad taste) that comes from stupidity and failure to communicate. But it does give a (nasty) insight to racism, and pokes such fun at it.
October 17, 2011
This author gets my Big Brass Balls Award. Not many authors writing comedy would go near the issue of apartheid and racism in South Africa. It's not a funny topic. But Sharpe's depictions of rednecks, racists, and bigots are as brutal as the crimes they have committed against humanity. Sharpe is an overlooked author and this is where you should start. One of a kind.
May 3, 2009
I totally agree. Here one is absolutely helpless with mirth, in the clutches of a master satirist, and one with a laser eye for human foibles of all stripes and colors!! This book is a must-read....then follow up with "Indecent Exposure." the sequel to Riotous Assembly.
You won't be sorry.
Read Riotous Assembly 3 times, laughed until I cried each time.
You won't be sorry.
Read Riotous Assembly 3 times, laughed until I cried each time.
January 8, 2012
I swear it reads like a Monty Python movie. Funny and disturbing at the same time. Sadly members of the police force and other authority figures in this novel reminded me of past presidents here in the USA.
July 2, 2008
This book made me laugh out loud too many times to count. I highly recommend this if you aren't easily offended.
December 10, 2014
Pure hilarity from beginning to end. A delicious blend of satire and farce shot through with caricature-like characterisation, dazzling wit and healthy dollops of smut. Manages to send up and satirise the whole history of South Africa up to the apartheid era and still contain scenes of cartoon violence featuring policemen and attack dogs squeezing each other's knackers. Kommandant van Heerden, Konstabel Els and Lieutenant Verkramp - the book's central characters - are all amusingly flawed boneheads and make up an oddly Hancockian trio for a threesome of apartheid-enforcing Afrikaners, while other highlights in the cast include a mad, aged rubber-fetisihist spinster, a drunken clergyman, and a lisping lawyer with a high opinion of himself.
I laughed and laughed and laughed the length of the Central Line while reading this and would recommend it to anyone, especially to fans of William Donaldson's comic novels, which this rather reminded me of. A triumph!
(Also, happily the Kommandant and his men are the central characters in the sequel, Indecent Exposure, too...)
I laughed and laughed and laughed the length of the Central Line while reading this and would recommend it to anyone, especially to fans of William Donaldson's comic novels, which this rather reminded me of. A triumph!
(Also, happily the Kommandant and his men are the central characters in the sequel, Indecent Exposure, too...)
November 15, 2011
This book is a masterpiece of satire and slapstick humour set in Apartheid South Africa. With the release of Mandela and the fall of Apartheid it is possibly less funny and less relevant. The plot is frankly ludicrous, the characters absurdly drawn (or so I thought until a Boer told me I was "a waste of God's good oxygen" three years ago) and his attention to detail - the use of local anaesthetic injections to prevent premature ejaculation, for example - is masterful. The books written around this time a Sharpe's zenith as a satirist.
August 31, 2020
No es un libro fácil por lo atrevido que es pero, en líneas generales, podría decir que me ha gustado (sin más, eso sí). Su mayor contra, para mí, es que ese humor absurdo y cruel a veces es tan llevado al extremo, tan gratuito, que consigue que te alejes del libro y de sus personajes . Su mayor pro: cómo usa el autor ese humor, precisamente, para hacer una crítica social tan sincera (teniendo en cuenta que llegó a estar en prisión en Sudáfrica por ese motivo). En conclusión, si te gusta el humor absurdo o tienes la mente muy abierta, prueba con el libro, pero si no, ni siquiera lo intentes.
September 2, 2020
This attack on the obscenity of the apartheid regime in South Africa is biting, clever and extremely funny.
It's no wonder that Tom Sharpe was thrown out of South Africa. Regimes like that one don't deal very well with being held up to ridicule. Racist bullies can't cope with being laughed at.
This world needs more writers like Tom Sharpe!
It's no wonder that Tom Sharpe was thrown out of South Africa. Regimes like that one don't deal very well with being held up to ridicule. Racist bullies can't cope with being laughed at.
This world needs more writers like Tom Sharpe!
June 8, 2020
Personalmente no me ha gustado y si no hubiera sido una lectura de grupo, no lo habría leido.
Pero le doy 2 estrellas porque si creo que es un libro que puede gustar a otras personas y aunque no me haya gustado su formato, valoro la denuncia y critica que quiere reflejar.
Una crítica contra el racismo, la hipocresía y el sentimiento de superioridad de los que se consideran raza “pura� pero en una historia disparatada y rocambolesca y con un humor que no ha sabido apreciar.
Pero le doy 2 estrellas porque si creo que es un libro que puede gustar a otras personas y aunque no me haya gustado su formato, valoro la denuncia y critica que quiere reflejar.
Una crítica contra el racismo, la hipocresía y el sentimiento de superioridad de los que se consideran raza “pura� pero en una historia disparatada y rocambolesca y con un humor que no ha sabido apreciar.
March 17, 2024
1/5
Ni benetan saiatzen naizela ✨klasikoak� irakurtzen... :(
Ni benetan saiatzen naizela ✨klasikoak� irakurtzen... :(
November 9, 2012
Warning for mild spoilers...
Brilliant, brilliant satire of segregation in South Africa, and especially the useless and deplorable South African police force. The first half of the book is pure farcical genius, like Fawlty Towers in literary form as a seemingly straightforward prolem develops slowly but surely into all-out siege warfare. The characters are broadly sketched, as you would expect from a comedy, but they are utterly unforgettable; the misguided and dim-witted racist Kommandant van Heerden, the paranoid Luitenant Verkramp, and the utter comic nirvana that is the violently inept and psychotic Konstabel Els. In fact the only real problem with Tom Sharpe's debut is that the first half is so sublime, the second half can't quite live up to it - the plot loses a bit of momentum, there are one or two scenes that don't feel like they add a great deal and the comedy becomes slightly more sporadically inspired rather than consistently pitch perfect. Having said that, it's still searingly and savagely funnier than just about anything else you'll read.
Brilliant, brilliant satire of segregation in South Africa, and especially the useless and deplorable South African police force. The first half of the book is pure farcical genius, like Fawlty Towers in literary form as a seemingly straightforward prolem develops slowly but surely into all-out siege warfare. The characters are broadly sketched, as you would expect from a comedy, but they are utterly unforgettable; the misguided and dim-witted racist Kommandant van Heerden, the paranoid Luitenant Verkramp, and the utter comic nirvana that is the violently inept and psychotic Konstabel Els. In fact the only real problem with Tom Sharpe's debut is that the first half is so sublime, the second half can't quite live up to it - the plot loses a bit of momentum, there are one or two scenes that don't feel like they add a great deal and the comedy becomes slightly more sporadically inspired rather than consistently pitch perfect. Having said that, it's still searingly and savagely funnier than just about anything else you'll read.
May 8, 2014
When I was 17 the first chapter of this was read to us in class. We fell about laughing at the imbecility of the South African police characters.
At that time, the Apartheid regime in South Africa - against whom this satire was tilted - was hardening against resistance. Amazingly, on initial publication in the US, the novel had been boycotted over its dedication:
"For all those members of the South African Police Force whose lives are dedicated to the preservation of Western Civilisation in Southern Africa"
Some readers evidently thought it was a serious dedication, rather than a sarcastic pop at the regime. Sharpe was deported from South Africa for sedition in 1961.
I reread it a few years ago. It stands up well, but I guess the butt of the joke should now be a corrupt ANC, whose leaders have lined their pockets well. Alas, South African politics now resembles ...
At that time, the Apartheid regime in South Africa - against whom this satire was tilted - was hardening against resistance. Amazingly, on initial publication in the US, the novel had been boycotted over its dedication:
"For all those members of the South African Police Force whose lives are dedicated to the preservation of Western Civilisation in Southern Africa"
Some readers evidently thought it was a serious dedication, rather than a sarcastic pop at the regime. Sharpe was deported from South Africa for sedition in 1961.
I reread it a few years ago. It stands up well, but I guess the butt of the joke should now be a corrupt ANC, whose leaders have lined their pockets well. Alas, South African politics now resembles ...
May 18, 2020
This is the third time I've read this and it just keeps on getting both funnier and more relevant. This book could be dismissed as a racist lampoon of Apartheid but under the surface is a complex and ruthless honesty about the attitudes that allowed Apartheid to happen and continue for as long as it did. This is a merciless satire also full of the usual side-splitting farcical events that had me laughing out loud on several occasions and nodding in agreement at others.
Crude and rude and not for the easily offended, this is one of the best satires I have ever read.
Crude and rude and not for the easily offended, this is one of the best satires I have ever read.
March 8, 2015
hilarious, completely over the top, with some very ribald scenes
April 21, 2018
Very very funny. Few books can literally make you laugh out loud.
This is one of them.
This is one of them.
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