Spoof at apartheid
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Tom Sharpe's spoof at apartheid is brilliantly written and its comical sense of way also exposes the tragedy of apartheid; an extreme form of the caste system where mankind was segregated on the sole basis of skin colour.
There is a torture scene in the book which reveals the extent a prisoner reveals depending on the degree of torture. He gets tortured so much that inthe end, he loses his mind and starts telling stories.
Only Tom Sharpe could write a book so funny you are giggling all through it but also so powerful at making you understand how apartheid really worked. All of his works should rank among the best in the field of comedy; this one should be also recommended to political science students.
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An Unrestratined Comic Pummeling of the RSA
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If you're ever in the mood for a hugely over-the-top farce about apartheid-era South Africa, well, this is the book for you. Sharpe spent a decade there before being deported as a subversive, and after reading this unrestrained comic pummeling of the RSA, one can only wonder why it took the authorities so long to give him the boot. Indeed authority is target number one in this fast-paced story set in the small city of Piemburg. It all starts when an elderly semi-aristocratic Englishwoman calls the police to report that she's shot her Zulu cook. Refusing police Kommandant van Heerden's best attempts to cover up the matter, she reveals that the cook was also her lover, which so appalls him that he immediately declares a state of emergency and mobilizes the entire police force. And so begins a massive comedy of errors, in which a "Kaffir-Killer" Konstabel Els plays a large role, as does the slimy Luitenant Veerkamp, and matters take a turn for the utterly bizarre, as rubber fetishes, bondage, a drunken bishop, porno films, cross dressing, and penile novocain injections are all introduced to the plot. As one might surmise from such a litany, the plot spins ever more wildly out of control until events come to a head at--appropriately enough--the insane asylum. All the antics are intermittently funny, and it's somewhat refreshing to see the horrors of apartheid treated with rather less than the usual gravitas. Worth a read if you've got a special interest in South Africa or a soft spot for broad farce, otherwise not all that noteworthy.
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Murderously Funny!!
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Riotous Assembly is a hysterically funny satire, set in the mid 20th Century South Africa.
Sharpe has taken aspects of the South African police force, which would otherwise be of serious matter and turned it into a witty and enjoyable insight into the apartheid era.
Unique and quirky characters contribute to a twisting and intriguing plot, which will make your head spin.
Even if the subject matter does not appeal to all, Sharpe's savagely hillarious approach will make you laugh out loud.
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Riotous Assembly
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This book should carry a health warning! There were times during the reading of this book that I laughed so much I could hardly breathe. It is Tom Sharpe at his best and the book is laced with his well known brand of humour and ridiculous though somehow believable plots! The setting has since been superceeded but I don't think it detracts from the book in anyway. Not for the faint hearted or easily offended!
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As good as the book
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I read the book in my teenage years and all the action then is brought to life with these tapes. Simon Callow reads it brillantly; his accents are great; he sets the scenes well and none of the swearing is removed - which would spoil it. I think this is his best book by far and I recomend reading the book or listening to the tapes. Probably not for the politicaly correct!
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