Riotous Assembly - Couverture souple

Sharpe, Tom

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0871131439 ISBN 13 : 9780871131430

Editeur : Avalon Travel Publishing, 1994

Synopsis

Tom Sharpe's savagely funny first novel is set in South Africa, where the author was imprisoned and later deported.

When Miss Hazelstone of Jacaranda Park kills her Zulu cook in a sensational crime passionnel, the hasty, rude 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 memorable transplant operation yet recorded; Luitenant Verkramp of the Security Branch, ever active in his search for Communist cells; Konstabel 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 own race.

In the course of the bizarre events that 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 from the ancient gallows of the local prison.

Not a "political" novel in any previously imagined sense, Riotous Assembly provides a completely fresh approach to the horror of South Africa--an approach at once outrageous and startling in its deadpan savagery. Along with Indecent Exposure, this does for South Africa what Swift's A Modest Proposal did for Ireland.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

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 on the scene: Kommandant van Heerden, whose secret longing for the heart of an English gentleman leads to the most memorable transplant operation yet recorded; Luitenant Verkramp of the Security Branch, ever active in the pursuit of Communist cells; Konstabel 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 own 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.

Not a 'political' novel in any previously imagined sense, Riotous Assembly provided a completely fresh approach to the South African scene - an approach startling in its deadpan savagery and yet also outrageously funny.

Biographie de l'auteur

Tom Sharpe was born in 1928 and educated at Lancing College and Pembroke College, Cambridge. He did his national service in the Marines before moving 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, and from 1963 to 1972 he was a lecturer in History at the Cambridge College of Arts and Technology.

He is the author of sixteen bestselling novels, including Porterhouse Blue and Blott on the Landscape, which were serialised on television, and Wilt, which was made into a film. In 1986 he was awarded the XXIIIème Grand Prix de l'Humour Noir Xavier Forneret, and in 2010 he was awarded the inaugural BBK La Risa de Bilbao Prize. Tom Sharpe died in June 2013 at his home in northern Spain.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Avalon Travel Publishing
• Date d'édition: 1994
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0871131439
• ISBN 13: 9780871131430
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 248
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible