What do You think about Indecent Exposure (1994)?
I've only read the first chapter so I shouldn't really put the "read" tag, but it was what I had to do for CEL.Aaanyhow, I really liked it but only after a second reading and a detailed analysis. It's so sarcastic and the irony well hidden between the lines that you have to watch out for it and give the reading your full attention. The first time I read it I knew nothing about the cultural background so I had to do quite a bit of exploring. It's quiet a difficult read, so maybe I'll come back to the novel in a couple of years. I'm really interested, though, because I've heard a bit about the plot and it sounds WOW hahaha.
—Marina
>This was given to me in a mixed box of books.I found this really very funny in some places, Clockwork Orange meets Benny Hill type humour. However, it is undoubtedly dated.I think it probably would be deemed seriously offensive by most modern readers and I think would have been rejected by modern publishers... The author got booted out of South Africa for writing this book, so if you are easily offended or the type of person who wants Enid Blyton re-written because of the 'sexism' this is definitely not for you. Possibly if you are female, male, anti-gay, pro-gay, work in mental health, live in South Africa, like horses, have any kind of real knowledge about the Boer War, this book is probably not for you. If you understand the word satire and accept that this was written in a very different place in time, then give it a shot...
—Jamie
I read Wilt a couple of years ago so I already knew that I liked Tom Sharpe's writing.I often find that I notice simplistic writing styles more with books written in the 3rd person, but Indecent exposure never feels simplistic, it is well crafted throughout and is a joy to read from start to finish.It's hilarious too, events escalate to incredible and unbelievable extremes, then seemingly continue to escalate even further, all from a few bad decisions from characters placed in a position of power and authority whose ambition and self belief massively outweigh their knowledge and abilities.I like the way the characters and their opinions are presented, quite horrific things are said, often as quite throwaway comments which pass by completely without question, often quite racist things which is obviously quite deep seeded in the culture and so the opinions are seemingly just accepted by the characters as a kind of twisted truth.Tom Sharpe never stops to point out that these people are wrong or that you should think a certain thing while reading it, he just presents it as it is and allows you to make your own judgements, in that way it reminds me of the film 'This is England', in that I imagine that a racist could quite well read this book and miss the pint of it entirely.
—James Manders
