Indecent Exposure

Indecent Exposure, Tom Sharpe’s second South African novel, is a brilliant follow-up to his Riotous Assembly, which the Sunday Mirror called, “One of the most savagely hilarious satires ever, a startlingly original first novel.” 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. While Kommandant van Heerden gropes his way towards true “Englishness” in the company of the eccentric Dornford Yates Club, Luitenant Verkramp, whose hatred of all things English is surpassed only by his fear of sex, sets in motion an experiment in mass chastity with the help of the redoubtable lady psychiatrist Dr. von Blimenstein; their efforts are rewarded by remarkable and quite unforeseen results. Meanwhile, the Kommandant, riding to hounds in the Aardvark mountains, succumbs to the bizarre charms of Mrs. Heathcote-Kilkoon, as Luitenant Verkramp’s essays in counter-espionage backfire in the bird sanctuary. Once more, Konstabel Els, homicidal to the last, saves the day—or what’s left of it—in one of the most savage hunts ever chronicled in fiction. And if you’ve ever wondered why Tom Sharpe, as a young man, was deported from South Africa (but not before enjoying its unique prisons), you need only read Indecent Exposure and its companion, Riotous Assembly.

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.

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. (April)

Indecent Exposure , Tom Sharpes second South African novel, is a brilliant follow-up to his Riotous Assembly , which the Sunday Mirror called, One of the most savagely hilarious satires ever, a startlingly original first novel. 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. While Kommandant van Heerden gropes his way towards true Englishness in the company of the eccentric Dornford Yates Club, Luitenant Verkramp, whose hatred of all things English is surpassed only by his fear of sex, sets in motion an experiment in mass chastity with the help of the redoubtable lady psychiatrist Dr. von Blimenstein; their efforts are rewarded by remarkable and quite unforeseen results. Meanwhile, the Kommandant, riding to hounds in the Aardvark mountains, succumbs to the bizarre charms of Mrs. Heathcote-Kilkoon, as Luitenant Verkramps essays in counter-espionage backfire in the bird sanctuary. Once more, Konstabel Els, homicidal to the last, saves the dayor whats left of itin one of the most savage hunts ever chronicled in fiction. And if youve ever wondered why Tom Sharpe, as a young man, was deported from South Africa (but not before enjoying its unique prisons), you need only read Indecent Exposure and its companion, Riotous Assembly . 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. Product Description Offering all the qualities of his general bestselling fiction, this is Tom Sharpe's blazing satire of South African apartheid, companion to Riotous Assembly. It was Heroes Day in Piemburg and as usual the little capital of Zululand was quite unwarrantably gay.