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Ancestral Vices
With his only friend a computer, Walden Yapp has lived a singular life. Professor of Demotic History at the University of Kloone, Yapp spends his days highlighting the corrupt capitalistic nature of the upper-classes, and his nights feeding Doris his computer the information he has gathered
So when capitalist Lord Petrefact hires him to write a damaging family history, Yapp seizes the chance to chronicle the corrupt life of the Petrefact family. Spurred on by his expectations of dishonesty and depravity Yapp heads of the town of Buscott, where nobody is what they at first appear to be.
Now a pawn in Lord Petrefact’s vindictive family game, Yapp’s presence is as welcome as the plague. From provoking dwarfish marital problems to uncovering an erotic toy factory Yapp’s presence sparks a chain of events that ends in death, destruction and a murder trial.
Going through a car wash will never feel the same again.
So when capitalist Lord Petrefact hires him to write a damaging family history, Yapp seizes the chance to chronicle the corrupt life of the Petrefact family. Spurred on by his expectations of dishonesty and depravity Yapp heads of the town of Buscott, where nobody is what they at first appear to be.
Now a pawn in Lord Petrefact’s vindictive family game, Yapp’s presence is as welcome as the plague. From provoking dwarfish marital problems to uncovering an erotic toy factory Yapp’s presence sparks a chain of events that ends in death, destruction and a murder trial.
Going through a car wash will never feel the same again.
233 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
81 people are currently reading
659 people want to read
About the author
Tom Sharpe
87 books559 followersTom Sharpe was an English satirical author, born in London and educated at Lancing College and at Pembroke College, Cambridge. After National Service with the Royal Marines he moved to South Africa in 1951, doing social work and teaching in Natal, until deported in 1961.
His work in South Africa inspired the novels Riotous Assembly and Indecent Exposure. From 1963 until 1972 he was a History lecturer at the Cambridge College of Arts and Technology, which inspired his "Wilt" series Wilt, The Wilt Alternative, Wilt on High and Wilt in Nowhere.
His novels feature bitter and outrageous satire of the apartheid regime (Riotous Assembly and its sequel Indecent Exposure), dumbed- or watered-down education (the Wilt series), English class snobbery (Ancestral Vices, Porterhouse Blue, Grantchester Grind), the literary world (The Great Pursuit), political extremists of all stripes, political correctness, bureaucracy and stupidity in general. Characters may indulge in bizarre sexual practices, and coarser characters use very graphic and/or profane language in dialogue. Sharpe often parodies the language and style of specific authors commonly associated with the social group held up for ridicule. Sharpe's bestselling books have been translated into many languages.
His work in South Africa inspired the novels Riotous Assembly and Indecent Exposure. From 1963 until 1972 he was a History lecturer at the Cambridge College of Arts and Technology, which inspired his "Wilt" series Wilt, The Wilt Alternative, Wilt on High and Wilt in Nowhere.
His novels feature bitter and outrageous satire of the apartheid regime (Riotous Assembly and its sequel Indecent Exposure), dumbed- or watered-down education (the Wilt series), English class snobbery (Ancestral Vices, Porterhouse Blue, Grantchester Grind), the literary world (The Great Pursuit), political extremists of all stripes, political correctness, bureaucracy and stupidity in general. Characters may indulge in bizarre sexual practices, and coarser characters use very graphic and/or profane language in dialogue. Sharpe often parodies the language and style of specific authors commonly associated with the social group held up for ridicule. Sharpe's bestselling books have been translated into many languages.
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August 2, 2020
A quite unique Sharpe, because he doesn´t use a pretty cynic main protagonist to reflect about work, love, and life, like in his Wilt series, but uses two extremely opposite main characters to criticize too theoretical humanities and capitalism.
The only thing that reduced the reading pleasure it that there is no real end, it seems to me as if Sharpe wanted to or had to get to a certain length and just cut all strings after that. That´s especially frustrating because it starts so strong, the character backgrounds are amazing and hilarious, the middle part and last third a combination of slapstick and satire and then, suddenly, without much warning, the end and a complete lack of a climax.
It´s a bit of an irony and incredibility that instead of doing the worst thing and, for instance, giving a vast amount of money to charity or to a relative nobody knows of while everyone is awaiting the money rain following the funeral. Sharpe needed that setting for the plot, but it doesn´t seem probable and could have certainly been dealt with in a better way.
Academic ivory towers and what they can do with the minds of people, especially if these have a family history of strange upbringing techniques, are used to show how far theory can abstract reality until it gets a blurred phantasmagoria for the intellectual, who can´t really deal with real life or makes hilarious assumptions about the nature of normal people´s lives.
I´ve read very much comedy and can´t find a similar setting, which lets me wondering why not more people are reinterpreting the classical rich guy, smart guy setting in a way to reflect about politics, economics, and faith, exaggerating the real life examples and showing any kind of ideology it´s true, ugly face. Ok, this comes with irritating and indirectly insulting pretty many people, reducing the potential readers, and making it difficult to promote a novel not enjoyable for a larger audience. Hilarious, dirty, and brutal humor in combination with very real life examples just isn´t world bestseller material.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
The only thing that reduced the reading pleasure it that there is no real end, it seems to me as if Sharpe wanted to or had to get to a certain length and just cut all strings after that. That´s especially frustrating because it starts so strong, the character backgrounds are amazing and hilarious, the middle part and last third a combination of slapstick and satire and then, suddenly, without much warning, the end and a complete lack of a climax.
It´s a bit of an irony and incredibility that instead of doing the worst thing and, for instance, giving a vast amount of money to charity or to a relative nobody knows of while everyone is awaiting the money rain following the funeral. Sharpe needed that setting for the plot, but it doesn´t seem probable and could have certainly been dealt with in a better way.
Academic ivory towers and what they can do with the minds of people, especially if these have a family history of strange upbringing techniques, are used to show how far theory can abstract reality until it gets a blurred phantasmagoria for the intellectual, who can´t really deal with real life or makes hilarious assumptions about the nature of normal people´s lives.
I´ve read very much comedy and can´t find a similar setting, which lets me wondering why not more people are reinterpreting the classical rich guy, smart guy setting in a way to reflect about politics, economics, and faith, exaggerating the real life examples and showing any kind of ideology it´s true, ugly face. Ok, this comes with irritating and indirectly insulting pretty many people, reducing the potential readers, and making it difficult to promote a novel not enjoyable for a larger audience. Hilarious, dirty, and brutal humor in combination with very real life examples just isn´t world bestseller material.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
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July 26, 2024
Ancestral Vices - British author Tom Sharpe constructs another hilarious, side-splitting satire filled with memorable, eccentric, rubbery characters (think of the world of Don Martin, Mad Magazine's maddest artist, as per below illustrations) and laced with preposterous, outlandish events and happenings.
At the center of this Monty Pythonesque farce is Professor Walden Yapp summoned by Lord Petrefact to compile a Petrefact family history with an especial focus on the part played by the family in industry. Yapp can hardly believe his ears since he's well aware of the foul business practices employed by the Petrefacts stretching across generations - their numerous sweatshops, mines, mills, foundries and factories where brutality and subhuman working conditions were all the norm so as to maximize the Petrefact profits.
Of course, wheelchair-bound Lord Petrefact, nasty octogenarian geezer that he is, has his reasons for choosing Walden Yapp, a priggish, prudish thirty-year-old bachelor and prof at Kloone University specializing in industrial relations with a decidedly anti-capitalist slant. And nefarious Lord Petrefact entices Yapp with huge amounts of money. Yapp accepts and he's off to the little town of Buscott, home to a number of Petrefacts and one of their key factories.
Now, there's a feature of this Tom Sharpe novel that made it particularly appealing to me: toward the end, one of the story's characters undergoes a major transformation. That's right. A Tom Sharpe novel is a comedy overflowing with slapstick, but whatever the context, transformation is transformation, and it can be both moving and profound. It certainly is evident here, where we witness a major shift in a character who sheds a lifetime of hypocrisy and illusion, coming into alignment with who they truly are and their place in the world.
Cycling back, there are many occasions to laugh out loud. Take a gander at a few Ancestral Vices highlights:
To Everything Turn, Turn, Turn – Lord Petrefact's electric wheelchair is nothing less than a deluxe model, custom made according to his own highly calibrated specifications. One night while in bed, crisis strikes. Lord P watches in horror as some mysterious catastrophe causes his chandelier and plaster to crash down. “In front the wheelchair, activated by the plaster, shot forward, gathering speed and collided first with a large ornamental vase and then with an embroidered silk screen which had until then been camouflaging Lord Petrefact's portable commode. Having demolished the screen and emptied the commode the chair recoiled, with apparent disgust, and evident urgency, in the opposite direction. As the damned thing scuttled past him Lord Petrefact made a final attempt to stop it but the wheelchair was intent on other things, this time a glass-fronted cabinet containing some extremely valuable jade pieces. With a horror that came in part from the knowledge that they were irreplaceable, and for all he knew underinsured, Lord Petrefact watched the wheelchair slam through the glass and spin round several times, shattering the treasures of half a dozen dynasties before heading straight toward him. But Lord Petrefact was ready. He had no intention of being decapitated by his own wheelchair or of joining the contents of the commode in that corner of the room.” The mayhem continues...and continues, almost ending his life by strangulation of his lordly private parts. This scene underscores how once Tom Sharpe gets going, he reeves up his prose to full throttle and only the reader is safe.
Extras - Eschewing a hotel as too capitalist, Walden Yapp decided to stay as a border in the home of Mrs. Rosie Coppett and her husband, Willie, who happened to be a dwarf. Rosie asked Yapp if he wanted “extras” and Yapp, not even close to guessing what that meant, told Rosie “yes” since, after all, he wanted to please his landlady and give her some added cash as an expression of his gratitude. Then one day on his return home for some needed rest, the shock: “I'm ready,” she said striking a contorted pose against the banister that gave a ghastly prominence to and positively riveted Yapp's disgusted attention on her putative suspender belt. “Ready?” he asked, his voice harsh with tension as well as suede restorer.” I'm sure you can imagine what follows when prissy, prim Yapp comes to understand exactly what he was agreeing to when he told Rosie he wanted extras. Tom Sharpe's satire is at its stinging best when his characters are caught in a comedy of errors revolving around sex.
Bollixed Boobie – Walden Yapp proves himself the archetypal clueless academic who spent his youth memorizing the Bible and an Encyclopedia when he takes his car to the car wash for the very first time. Yapp must make sure his trunk (boot for Brits) is sparkling clean. “For the next few minutes drivers on their way into town were interested to watch the effects of a modern, efficient and self-motivated carwashing machine at work on an old Vauxhall whose boot-lid has been left deliberately wide open. Yapp, trapped inside the vehicle by the whirling brushes and the jets of water, could only surmise from the noise what was happening. The brushes had slammed the back door before allowing it to open again while they attended to the back bumper, but on their return journey up and over the car found the boot in their way. A less conscientious machine might have stopped but this one didn't.” Poor, Yapp.
Tom Sharpe is truly master of the craft in all phases of comedy, from first page to last. But, again, the real juice in the tale centers on the dramatic transformation of one of his characters. A novel not to be missed.
British author Tom Sharpe, 1928-2013
May 24, 2024
Empezando por el nombre del protagonista - Lord Petrefact (suena como putrefacto en inglés) - toda la novela es una sucesión de situaciones increíblemente divertidas. El susodicho potentado encarga a un profesor universitario que se mueve en el terreno de la ultracorrección política que redacte una historia de su familia, con la esperanza de que levante muertos y pufos de todo tipo y con ello amargar la vida a sus parientes, a los que odia con cordialidad.
Si a este planteamiento le añadimos una silla de ruedas que se rebela contra su dueño, un pequeño pueblo donde se fabrican objetos poco aceptables y una persona de crecimiento restringido (enano), todo se va complicando cada vez más y las situaciones son hilarantes.
En conjunto un buen libro de humor, con crítica social incluída y una sátira de la sociedad inglesa, tanto tradicional como progresista, muy lograda que ha resistido el paso del tiempo - fue escrito en 1980.
Si a este planteamiento le añadimos una silla de ruedas que se rebela contra su dueño, un pequeño pueblo donde se fabrican objetos poco aceptables y una persona de crecimiento restringido (enano), todo se va complicando cada vez más y las situaciones son hilarantes.
En conjunto un buen libro de humor, con crítica social incluída y una sátira de la sociedad inglesa, tanto tradicional como progresista, muy lograda que ha resistido el paso del tiempo - fue escrito en 1980.
August 21, 2017
The farce kicked off pretty early on, about 100 pages in. The master mind behind the action is Lord Petrefact who is loathed by all and sundry with very good reason. One of my favourite sequences in the novel involves a mechanised Victorian bath, a professor and a runaway wheelchair. In many ways it reminded me of Pratchett without the fantasy element.
The tag line on the front cover describes the novel as ‘savage’ and it is just that. I couldn’t help but feel immense pity for Professor Yapp who is sucked into Lord Petrefact’s machinations in the most awful way.
Sharpe writes from the perspective that life is cruel and always will be. He does this by visiting dreadful consequences on Yapp for his involvement in Lord Petrefact’s machinations then uses Emmelia Petrefact’s character to ram the point home.
If you like cynical, sharp, witty and insightful writing then I recommend you read this. Sharpe has been on my reading list for years and I’m glad I’ve finally got round to him. Now I’ve got him in my system I doubt I’ll be able to get him out.
The tag line on the front cover describes the novel as ‘savage’ and it is just that. I couldn’t help but feel immense pity for Professor Yapp who is sucked into Lord Petrefact’s machinations in the most awful way.
Sharpe writes from the perspective that life is cruel and always will be. He does this by visiting dreadful consequences on Yapp for his involvement in Lord Petrefact’s machinations then uses Emmelia Petrefact’s character to ram the point home.
If you like cynical, sharp, witty and insightful writing then I recommend you read this. Sharpe has been on my reading list for years and I’m glad I’ve finally got round to him. Now I’ve got him in my system I doubt I’ll be able to get him out.
August 18, 2012
It took me a while to discover Tom Sharpe, who wrote mainly in the 70's and 80's, but when I did I got hooked. Sharp is the word for his satires on modern British life, with all varieties of phonies and poseurs viciously skewered. This one's about an embittered old oligarch who hires a radical academic to write a scathing history of his family, just to annoy his relatives. Whether doing social commentary or mere slapstick, Sharpe is just damn funny.
August 24, 2025
Absolutely surreal and hilarious farce. Sharpe must have been an interesting character with a voice vid imagination. The story about Professor Warden Yapp and the machinations of the insane Lord Petrefact are diabolical and funny. I particularly enjoyed Yapp’s use of the Victorian mechanical bath and the chaos that ensued.
Willy Coppett a Person of Restricted Growth lives happily in the village of Buscott with his wife of limited intelligence. Then along comes Yapp to write an expose of the Petrefact family’s dubious history. Murder, conspiracy, prison and a factory devoted to fetishists all add up to make a hilarious romp.
Willy Coppett a Person of Restricted Growth lives happily in the village of Buscott with his wife of limited intelligence. Then along comes Yapp to write an expose of the Petrefact family’s dubious history. Murder, conspiracy, prison and a factory devoted to fetishists all add up to make a hilarious romp.
August 2, 2011
Ancestral Vices
Not everything that counts can be measured.
Not everything that can be measured counts.
Albert Einstein
Ancestral Vices by Tom Sharpe is another hilarious spoof about our brothers of higher learning. Tom Sharpe’s articulation and enormous vocabulary is again put to good use in his depiction of a college professor and university lecturer. In the well established tradition of Sharpe’s Wilt series, he brings rip-roaring laughter both in and out of the classroom. Ancestral Vices main character, Professor Walden Yapp, is an unworldly academic and egalitarian that has been given carte-blanche by an old and notorious English industrialist to write his family’s tarnished history. The story winds through an array of colorful characters, entailing dwarficide and a simple man’s false delusion that the truth always prevails.
As a fledgling sexagenarian I’ve grown to love the enormous diversity of the English language and Tom Sharpe is a true master in the use of that language.
Not everything that counts can be measured.
Not everything that can be measured counts.
Albert Einstein
Ancestral Vices by Tom Sharpe is another hilarious spoof about our brothers of higher learning. Tom Sharpe’s articulation and enormous vocabulary is again put to good use in his depiction of a college professor and university lecturer. In the well established tradition of Sharpe’s Wilt series, he brings rip-roaring laughter both in and out of the classroom. Ancestral Vices main character, Professor Walden Yapp, is an unworldly academic and egalitarian that has been given carte-blanche by an old and notorious English industrialist to write his family’s tarnished history. The story winds through an array of colorful characters, entailing dwarficide and a simple man’s false delusion that the truth always prevails.
As a fledgling sexagenarian I’ve grown to love the enormous diversity of the English language and Tom Sharpe is a true master in the use of that language.
August 19, 2017
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.
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.
March 2, 2014
There are many many better Tom Sharpe books. Read this for completeness, but do not start here
June 10, 2019
Even despite the rushed ending, this is one of the absolute best farces I've ever read.
September 1, 2017
My next book thanks to the recommendation of GR friend Griselda. Starting tonight. My copy is an elderly but not-much-used inter-library library hardbound edition from the Boston Public Library. Doesn't look like it's been checked out much.
Started this last night and, indeed, the author had me laughing out loud a few times. At times an intended "funny thing" fell flat in the face of my own prejudices, but I am enjoying myself. There's a bit of Basil Fawlty in the character of Prof. Walden Yapp. For myself, I was never a BIG fan of Fawlty Towers. This seems funnier. Not being British, I suspect I'm missing some of this stuff, but I'm hanging in there.
Lord Petrefact = Montgomery Burns and Croxley = Smithers
- Some suggestion of "The World According to Garp" - can't remember where.
- What's a "twin-set"? A cardigan worn over a pullover jersey. Usually the same color.
- I could do without the "poopy" stuff. My prejudice I guess.
No big yucks last night, but more of a plot kicked in. The sexual confusion scene wasn't particularly amusing, but it was interesting to read what Walden's TRUE feelings for Mr. Coppett are as she suddenly becomes MUCH more compelling to him. SEX!!!
Again, only a couple of guffaws during last night's reading, and I'm less than convinced that the remainder will be any better. The author has veered into the theatre of the cruel and absurd with the fate of the unfortunate Willie and it looks like much suffering is due to fall upon the scrawny shoulders of Prof. Yapp as well. We'll see ... BTW, I don't find the manufacturing of sex toys and other related items to be inherently amusing, but then, I'm not British. BTW #2 - I'm reminded that the seemingly sexless, out-to-lunch, Ichabod-like academic(or something related) is a pretty standard figure in British comedy.
Finished last night as the laughs tended to evaporate in barely-amusing plot foolishness and overreach. The car wash thing(the comic high point of the second half)? Really? NOBODY is THAT stupid. The supposed "satire" of this book seemed at times more like axe-grinding. Seems like the author was after various targets: the British class system, the British justice system, the British higher education system etc. Anyway ... I can't bring myself to rate this a 2*, so I'll say 2.75* rounding up to 3* and let it go. A disappointment ...
Started this last night and, indeed, the author had me laughing out loud a few times. At times an intended "funny thing" fell flat in the face of my own prejudices, but I am enjoying myself. There's a bit of Basil Fawlty in the character of Prof. Walden Yapp. For myself, I was never a BIG fan of Fawlty Towers. This seems funnier. Not being British, I suspect I'm missing some of this stuff, but I'm hanging in there.
Lord Petrefact = Montgomery Burns and Croxley = Smithers
- Some suggestion of "The World According to Garp" - can't remember where.
- What's a "twin-set"? A cardigan worn over a pullover jersey. Usually the same color.
- I could do without the "poopy" stuff. My prejudice I guess.
No big yucks last night, but more of a plot kicked in. The sexual confusion scene wasn't particularly amusing, but it was interesting to read what Walden's TRUE feelings for Mr. Coppett are as she suddenly becomes MUCH more compelling to him. SEX!!!
Again, only a couple of guffaws during last night's reading, and I'm less than convinced that the remainder will be any better. The author has veered into the theatre of the cruel and absurd with the fate of the unfortunate Willie and it looks like much suffering is due to fall upon the scrawny shoulders of Prof. Yapp as well. We'll see ... BTW, I don't find the manufacturing of sex toys and other related items to be inherently amusing, but then, I'm not British. BTW #2 - I'm reminded that the seemingly sexless, out-to-lunch, Ichabod-like academic(or something related) is a pretty standard figure in British comedy.
Finished last night as the laughs tended to evaporate in barely-amusing plot foolishness and overreach. The car wash thing(the comic high point of the second half)? Really? NOBODY is THAT stupid. The supposed "satire" of this book seemed at times more like axe-grinding. Seems like the author was after various targets: the British class system, the British justice system, the British higher education system etc. Anyway ... I can't bring myself to rate this a 2*, so I'll say 2.75* rounding up to 3* and let it go. A disappointment ...
April 19, 2013
A friend lent me this ages ago, and i've finally got round to reading it. You'll have it back soon Christiana!
With Mrs Thatcher's death bringing back to my mind all things eighties, reading this book, released in 1980 took me back to that world. Militant Left-Wingers, Right-Wingers, Old Money, the class war, all those things which seemed to matter then but maybe not as much nowadays.
It's a farce, a form i'm not too familiar with. There are no heroes, all those involved seem to be a combination of either stupid or nasty, and very few seem to me to have good intentions at all.
I dread books with wacky covers, and "you will laugh at loud" testimonials on the back. To date, i've only laughed out loud at one book, one of the Reggie Perrin books as you ask, and that remains the case.
It's not right for me to judge it 30 years on, i've not aged too well either; i'm sure it was funny when it was written, but what i most took from it was how much the country had changed. The past is also indeed a foreign country.
With Mrs Thatcher's death bringing back to my mind all things eighties, reading this book, released in 1980 took me back to that world. Militant Left-Wingers, Right-Wingers, Old Money, the class war, all those things which seemed to matter then but maybe not as much nowadays.
It's a farce, a form i'm not too familiar with. There are no heroes, all those involved seem to be a combination of either stupid or nasty, and very few seem to me to have good intentions at all.
I dread books with wacky covers, and "you will laugh at loud" testimonials on the back. To date, i've only laughed out loud at one book, one of the Reggie Perrin books as you ask, and that remains the case.
It's not right for me to judge it 30 years on, i've not aged too well either; i'm sure it was funny when it was written, but what i most took from it was how much the country had changed. The past is also indeed a foreign country.
April 25, 2013
After a quiet start this develops into a brilliant satyrical farce on the higher education of the time and on business. There's some great dark humour, a dash of dark slapstick and a chunk of insight. Times have changed, and this is a book of its time, but I still really enjoyed it. Tom Sharpe is a master of taking the mickey.
April 11, 2018
Hilarious. Highly recommended.
February 3, 2022
Tom Sharpe is one of the great British comedy writers and this book has all of the usual ingredients of chaos, vulgarity, bizarre characters and riotously funny situations. The main protagonists are a brutal, cynical and grasping industrialist and his antithesis, a doctrinaire socialist university professor with absolutely no understanding of the World at large. A recession of bizarre and hilarious characters join the plot to produce a thoroughly enjoyable comedic romp. Recommended.
July 27, 2024
6.8/10.
October 5, 2023
Another boisterous knockabout farce. Brilliantly awful characters. Absurd plot. Funny
February 25, 2014
La historia se me hizo interesante, no creí que fuera a tomar el giro tan radical que tomó, pero aún así resulta entretenida, mucho, en todo el sentido de la palabra. Es la primera vez que leo a Tom Sharpe y no me resultó tan humorístico comparándolo por ejemplo con Wodehouse(al menos en este libro). No recurre tanto a la risa en sí sino a toda la situación en general viéndola con ironía y crítica social, mucha crítica social, que Wodehouse también la tiene, pero no la expresa de forma tan directa. Por cierto, a la mitad y parte del final llega a tener tintes de novela negra, en los que hay momentos muy buenos.
Le pongo 3 estrellas porque sí, me gustó, pero a veces hablaba mucho de los abusos de los patrones capitalistas desde la mirada del hombre progresista de izquierda que le parece injusto lo que hacen, —yo me considero de izquierda—, pero esto ya es muy conocido, que sí, ese es uno de los argumentos de la historia, pero como digo me resultó un tanto repetitivo. Ahora, calificándola omitiendo lo anterior merecería 4 estrellas, porque en verdad es entretenida, te mantiene enganchado leyéndola conforme va pasando una cosa y otra.
Le pongo 3 estrellas porque sí, me gustó, pero a veces hablaba mucho de los abusos de los patrones capitalistas desde la mirada del hombre progresista de izquierda que le parece injusto lo que hacen, —yo me considero de izquierda—, pero esto ya es muy conocido, que sí, ese es uno de los argumentos de la historia, pero como digo me resultó un tanto repetitivo. Ahora, calificándola omitiendo lo anterior merecería 4 estrellas, porque en verdad es entretenida, te mantiene enganchado leyéndola conforme va pasando una cosa y otra.
October 7, 2015
My Uncle lent me this book. He's English and well mannered and loves a good giggle over fart jokes and fannies. His favorite movie is Ace Ventura. He pulled this off his shelf and handed it to me. "This is brilliant, but you need to love farce."
I read 100 pages of it and didn't crack a smile. Am I not English enough? Some of the references were clearly cultural and over my head, but others even a well-read Brit my age probably wouldn't get. As other reviewers have pointed out, these jokes, and this book, didn't age well.
Even the things I did understand weren't very funny to me. I can chuckle at the Three Stooges and Clue. And I've been to my share of farcical plays. There's something that clicks for me when I can see the action. In writing, farce falls flat. It feels too contrived.
The last thing I read was the wheelchair destruction scene. When what I'm sure amounted to one of this book's crown jewels failed to amuse me, I knew I wouldn't make it to the end.
I read 100 pages of it and didn't crack a smile. Am I not English enough? Some of the references were clearly cultural and over my head, but others even a well-read Brit my age probably wouldn't get. As other reviewers have pointed out, these jokes, and this book, didn't age well.
Even the things I did understand weren't very funny to me. I can chuckle at the Three Stooges and Clue. And I've been to my share of farcical plays. There's something that clicks for me when I can see the action. In writing, farce falls flat. It feels too contrived.
The last thing I read was the wheelchair destruction scene. When what I'm sure amounted to one of this book's crown jewels failed to amuse me, I knew I wouldn't make it to the end.
July 30, 2015
While the comedic style of farce is generally associated with the theatre, nowhere is the function of farce in British literature as fantastically demonstrated as in Tom Sharpe's 'Ancestral Vices' (among his other works).
First published in 1980, 'Ancestral Vices' is a work of farcical genius. While most of the situations most of the characters find themselves in are deliberately exaggerated or unrealistic, there is a subtle political commentary behind all the madness going on. The professor Walden Yapp's socialist views are contrasted with Lord Petrefact's capitalist ideologies, and when the latter invites the former to write his family's history, you can barely imagine the chaos these two perpetually contradictory forces have let loose. An odd mixture of humour and pathos ensue.
'Ancestral Vices' is one of those books that is hard to summarise but a delight to recommend, especially for those for are into political farces.
First published in 1980, 'Ancestral Vices' is a work of farcical genius. While most of the situations most of the characters find themselves in are deliberately exaggerated or unrealistic, there is a subtle political commentary behind all the madness going on. The professor Walden Yapp's socialist views are contrasted with Lord Petrefact's capitalist ideologies, and when the latter invites the former to write his family's history, you can barely imagine the chaos these two perpetually contradictory forces have let loose. An odd mixture of humour and pathos ensue.
'Ancestral Vices' is one of those books that is hard to summarise but a delight to recommend, especially for those for are into political farces.
September 3, 2019
This is a very funny book. A number of times had me laughing out loud. Tom Sharpe is not only a writer of really good farce, but quite the word-smith who can bring to life situations both mundane and outrageous with remarkable skill. He also pokes fun at the class system, opinionated people and how people interact with PORGS (Persons Of Restricted Growth).
By far the best scene is the one involving the bathtub and wheelchair, though the dwarf balls scene definitely gets a shout out.
A nod also goes to Paul Sample, who's excellent cover illustration features various scenes in the story which make sense only when the relevant part is read. My favourite style of book cover.
A word of warning to those who are not familiar with Tom Sharpe: He's not afraid to deal with most taboo subjects and will happily jump all over them. If you are easily offended you might want to skip this one.
He's also hilarious, so if you read it on the bus, be prepared for stares when you burst out laughing.
By far the best scene is the one involving the bathtub and wheelchair, though the dwarf balls scene definitely gets a shout out.
A nod also goes to Paul Sample, who's excellent cover illustration features various scenes in the story which make sense only when the relevant part is read. My favourite style of book cover.
A word of warning to those who are not familiar with Tom Sharpe: He's not afraid to deal with most taboo subjects and will happily jump all over them. If you are easily offended you might want to skip this one.
He's also hilarious, so if you read it on the bus, be prepared for stares when you burst out laughing.
July 23, 2016
This one reminded me of the Wilt novels, which is a good thing. I think the second half is better than the first half, so you should not short-change the book by not reading it to the end; if you find yourself insufficiently humorously aroused, just take it from the top and ignore any potential high-mindedness in characters you might dislike a little (this is a book about the murder (?) of a Person Of Restricted Growth, after all...) (...yes, that would be a dwarf...) (I incidentally find the term Vertically Challenged to be more catching, but what are you going to do? Complaints about terminology can easily make you out to be small-minded, and this is such a minor matter anyway...).
A funny book with a clever plot. If you like the Wilt books you'll probably also like this one, and vice versa.
A funny book with a clever plot. If you like the Wilt books you'll probably also like this one, and vice versa.
August 25, 2017
Tom Sharpe is Yes Minister meets Fawlty Towers. That essential Britishness mixed with a simple story which ends up tying everyone up in knots. Amusing certainly, probably wouldn't say laugh out loud funny although I could imagine it being so on TV or in a play. The plot is plausible and the characters can definitely be imagined in your favourite little village. Would recommend everyone to read it for the sheer fun of it.
December 28, 2025
I've yet to pick up anything by Tom Sharpe and not enjoy myself, and this book is no exception. I was entertained by how the story became increasingly absurd, although the ending felt a little abrupt. I was hoping the plot would focus a little more on humour surrounding academics with the character of Yapp - it ended up taking a rather different direction around halfway through the book, which was fine, but perhaps this is a sign I should finally read Porterhouse Blue...
November 2, 2015
Never having spent time in th UK, books like this gem make me feel I could wander the streets of an English country town and read the behaviour of the locals like a book. It might be a bit too risky to take Ancestral Vices as one's guide, however, as the mayhem is rampant. It is also, very very amusing. Viva Tom Sharpe! Viva!
June 16, 2018
This wasn't my kind of thing at all. Way too far fetched for me, and also too near the knuckle. However, I was listening to the audio book read by Griff Rhys Jones and he did a very good job with all the characters. They all sounded completely different and the voices he used reflected their personalities. I would definitely listen to something else read by him.
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August 9, 2012Don't listen to it and melt glass at the same time! Daughter wanted to know what I was laughing at, Willie's little wobbler!
On audiobook. Read by Griff Rhys Jones with lots of accents and voices. It's doubly hilarious!
On audiobook. Read by Griff Rhys Jones with lots of accents and voices. It's doubly hilarious!
August 5, 2014
Libro sublime. Tom Sharpe en estado puro, de los pocos escritores que te hacen reír a carcajadas y en este libro lo vuelve a conseguir. Situaciones absurdas y totalmente inverosímiles en cada capitulo, recomendable al 100% para los que quieren pasar un buen rato.
June 28, 2016
Tom Sharpe no seu melhor.
Tem algumas partes absolutamente hilariantes, de riso compulsivo e (quase) interminável. Principalmente motivadas por diálogos fantasticamente absurdos.
Aconselho a quem gosta do estilo.
Tem algumas partes absolutamente hilariantes, de riso compulsivo e (quase) interminável. Principalmente motivadas por diálogos fantasticamente absurdos.
Aconselho a quem gosta do estilo.
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