When Miss Hazelstone of Jacaranda Park kills her Zulu cook in a sensational crime passionel, the gallant members of the South African police force are soon upon the scene:... more
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Riotous Reading Review ofRiotous Assembly - Tom Sharpeby
Beaker66
Advantages: Very funny and ironic Disadvantages: Helps to have a rough idea of apartheid South Africa
Riotous Assembly is one of the first books written by Tom Sharpe, published in 1971 after his return from living in South Africa. Set during that period of brutal apartheid, the story centres on the South African police force stationed in the fictitious town of Piemberg.
Kommandant Van Heerden is a career policeman who has risen through the ranks to his present position. He is a keen enforcer of South African law and order and, as chief of Piemburg’s ... ...the night, I was that unable to put it down.
The sequel to this book, Indecent Exposure, is far more hilarious but Riotous Assembly is a must for first time readers of Tom Sharpe. If you do come across Indecent Exposure you do need to read Riotous Assembly first. ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Brilliant, inspired, witty, wet your pants stuff! Disadvantages: None
...brilliant as Mr Sharpe is. Riotous Assembly is the prequel to Indecent Exposure and the extra depth that is generated by a follow-up makes the two novels my favourites. Clearly you must start with this one!
The setting is Piemburg, a small city in South Africa. The eccentric and often delusional Kommandant van Heerden is in charge of the Piemburg police station and desperate to be English. His two underlings, Luitenant Verkramp and Konstabel Els ... ...an hilarious farce from the moment Miss Hazelstone, an English lady, confesses to murdering her black cook and they try to convince her it isn’t.
I could read this over and over again and still laugh as hard as the first time. The characters are just so absurd and the events so extreme that if you don’t wet yourself I would urge you to enter counselling immediately. This is not to be missed for anyone who enjoys life and laughter. Kill, lie, cheat ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: One of the funniest books I have ever read Disadvantages: Could cause offence, need to read the prequel first
...Indecent Exposure, written by TomSharpe and published in 1972, is the sequel to his previous work, RiotousAssembly (see reviews written by myself and others). Set in the fictitious South African town of Piemburg it once again bases itself on the local police station.
The hapless station Kommandant, Van Heerden, though keen to uphold the Afrikaner notion of law and order in apartheid South Africa holds a fascination for all things English. Under the mistaken belief that he has been the recipient of a heart transplanted from an Englishman he has taken to reading the novels of the English author Dornford Yates, revelling in their characters and storylines of the nineteen twenties and coming to the mistaken conclusion that it mirrors real life in England. As a result he spends his off duty hours reading, wearing tweeds, attempting to play...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Hilarious Disadvantages: Crude, Lots Of Bad Language
...Indecent Exposure by TomSharpe is the sort of Book that you will either love or hate. First Published back in 1973 as a follow up to his Novel "RiotousAssembly" two years earlier this is a Book that has been doing the rounds for many years.
The Story is set in the Town of Piemburg in South Africa and centres around the farcical Character that is Kommandent van Heerden, who is the Town's Chief of Police who has an unhealthy facsination for the English and their way of life. Meanwhile the equally eccentric Lieutenant Verkramp is plotting to undermine the Kommandant and aspires to one day become the Kommandant himself.
The Story is set against the backdrop of South Africa's White middle Class Society. Its Characters, poke fun at the deluded way of life that these Men lead. These people are Racist and Fascist and truly believe...
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When Miss Hazelstone of Jacaranda Park kills her Zulu cook in a sensational crime passionel, the gallant members of the South African police force are soon upon the scene: Kommandant van Heerden, whose secret longing for the heart of an English gentleman leads to the most memorbale transplant operation yet recorded; Luitenant Vekramp of the Security Branch, ever active in the pursuit of Communist cells; Konstable 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 race. In the course of the strange events which 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 on the ancient gallows in the local prison. About the AuthorTom Sharpe was born in 1928 and educated at Lancing College and Pembroke College, Cambridge. He did his National Service in the Marines before going to South Africa in 1951, where he did social work before teaching in Natal. He had a photographic studio in Pietermaritzburg from 1957 until 1961, when he was deported- From 1963 to 1972 he was a lecturer in History at the Cambridge College of Arts and Technology. In 1986 he was awarded the XXXIII-me Grand Prix de l'Humour Noir Xavier Forneret. He is married and lives in Cambridge.
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