Indecent Exposure [Paperback]

Tom Sharpe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 18, 1994

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, the deceptively peaceful looking capital of Zululand, where Kommandant van Heerden, Konstabel Els, and Luitenant Verkramp continue to terrorize true Englishmen and even truer Zulus in their relentless search for a perfect South Africa.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in South Africa, this broad, brutal farce begins when AfrikaansKommandant van Heerden, chief of police in the little town of Piemburg, takes a short vacation. While he indulges his Anglophile tendencies by trying to ingratiate himself with some would-be upper-class Britons, Liutenantthis is Afrikaans spelling Verkramp decides to make his part of South Africa safe from the communist threat once and for all. This he undertakes by blowing up the town's main facilities and by arresting and torturing the main citizens. Then, upon the suggestion of libidinous psychiatrist Dr. von Blimenstein, Verkramp subjects all police officers to aversion therapy to keep them away from black women. The experiment goes awry, and the police force becomes homosexual. Called back from his vacation after cuckolding his host on a fox hunt, van Heerden finds Piemburg a shambles and a raving mad Verkramp about to marry Dr. von Blimenstein. In the apocalyptic climax, van Heerden saves face with his superiors while exacting revenge on his snobbish former hosts. This timely satire will strike readers either as hilarious or beside the point.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Mr. Sharpe's phrasing, his timing and his extraordinarily deft handling of the minutiae of comic incidents make for real hilarity." - TLS --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 247 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press (January 18, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871131420
• ISBN-13: 978-0871131423
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #611,117 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indecent Exposure, February 11, 2000

By 

Matt Nickel (Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Indecent Exposure (Paperback)

This book must be one of the funniest I've ever read. My girlfrind threw me out of bed at four in the morning because I'd apparently been laughing in my sleep after having read the book. The best thing about any of Tom Sharpe's books is that you can read them again and again and still laugh all over again! Superb!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps the funniest book I've ever read!!!!!, August 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Indecent Exposure (Paperback)

What more can I say? Go read it! I read it about 12 years ago or more. It was fantastic. I read it at least once every 2-3 yrs after that and it has never failed to make me laugh again and again. Though Apartheid is dead, the humor is still valid worldwide. Read it as satire or just for its humour. Either way, you'll love it. By the way, dont be put off that its British and thus a bit heavy in the reading department. Its not. Its a great read and you could easily finish reading it in one day unless, of course, you fall off your chair or bed and injure yourself laughing. Believe me, I'm not exaggerating.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely brillant and funny, December 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Indecent Exposure (Paperback)

Tom Sharpe is one of the funniest writers on the planet, and this is his masterpiece. It takes place in the days of southafrican apartheid, and it's weird, wild and wonderful and imposible to explain. For your own good: Read it!