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Loading... Ancestral Vices (original 1980; edition 1997)by Tom Sharpe
Work InformationAncestral Vices by Tom Sharpe (1980)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Even despite the rushed ending, this is one of the absolute best farces I've ever read. ( ) This is the second time I've read this book. The first occasion was more than thirty years ago and has always sat in the back of mind as an enjoyable read. I was not disappointed the second time around. The story is beyond all reality but totally enjoyable and funny. The characters may be caricatures but that is what makes it so enjoyable. It is definitely black comedy and sure to be offensive to some, that is in part what the book pokes fun at. This was the first Tom Sharpe novel I ever read and because of it I have gone on to read nearly all his other books. A rich, ruthless and capitalistic old man Lord Petrefact decides to take revenge on his family for apparently no reason by exposing the dubious family history. For this purpose he hires a eccentric and socialist professor Mr. Yapp. Yapp lands up in Buscott, the town from which the family fortunes originated, and creates chaos in the town. He is later implicated in the murder of the town dwarf. We don't always get when the author is trying to be funny and when he is bemoaning the plight of the lower classes. This is a a strictly ok read. How can so much go so terribly wrong? Tom Sharpe wrote an adicting book describing how one's intentions can be misinterpreted and every action lead to the opposite end. A left wing Professor set his goals on ruining a Tycoon's reputation but ended up in prison with a life sentence himself, through a series of misunderstangings. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to Publisher SeriesHeyne Allgemeine Reihe (13517)
This title involves left-wing academics, right-wing capitalists, true-blue country gentry, workers, peasants, police and lawyers. No library descriptions found. |
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