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Midden
The Midden [Hardcover] Sharpe, Tom
244 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1996
40 people are currently reading
394 people want to read
About the author
Tom Sharpe
87 books557 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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
June 12, 2023
Back in the 70s Tom Sharpe was at the top of his game. His novels were ... sharp. At the time they were hilarious, pushing boundaries on social awkwardness, mixing slapstick and satire, treading the backstreets of sexual taboo. They had a certain frenetic energy to them and offered a dark, somewhat twisted reflection of the UK emerging from the free love optimism of the 60s and aimed at the greedy disfunction of the 80s.
This novel was written when Sharpe was in his late 60s and is, I think, his last published work. It's good to know when to stop, and to put it bluntly, Sharpe did not.
The book turns the handle on the same organ-grinder (ooo-err Mrs!) but the melody is now both too familiar and at the same time strangely discordant, out of tune with the times rather than cleverly mocking them. It's at turns puerile, heavy handed, laboured, and sadly overburdened with shades of the worst kinds of stereotyping. There are a number of -isms that it can be accused of.
The worst of its crimes is simply that the author has lost that vital beat, and it's simply not funny. Authors have a longer shelf life than athletes: we don't have to quit the game in our 20s or 30s, but our time does come. At some point we're old men/women shuffling down the 100m track in pursuit of our glory days. And if someone (hopefully ourselves) doesn't stop us ... we present a frankly sad spectacle. This book is that spectacle.
It isn't WHOLLY without merit. You will find glimpses of that former talent. But in insufficient number to carry this reader through the book with anything approaching comfort.
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This novel was written when Sharpe was in his late 60s and is, I think, his last published work. It's good to know when to stop, and to put it bluntly, Sharpe did not.
The book turns the handle on the same organ-grinder (ooo-err Mrs!) but the melody is now both too familiar and at the same time strangely discordant, out of tune with the times rather than cleverly mocking them. It's at turns puerile, heavy handed, laboured, and sadly overburdened with shades of the worst kinds of stereotyping. There are a number of -isms that it can be accused of.
The worst of its crimes is simply that the author has lost that vital beat, and it's simply not funny. Authors have a longer shelf life than athletes: we don't have to quit the game in our 20s or 30s, but our time does come. At some point we're old men/women shuffling down the 100m track in pursuit of our glory days. And if someone (hopefully ourselves) doesn't stop us ... we present a frankly sad spectacle. This book is that spectacle.
It isn't WHOLLY without merit. You will find glimpses of that former talent. But in insufficient number to carry this reader through the book with anything approaching comfort.
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Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes
..
January 12, 2016
Better than its reputation suggests but still not amazing, The Midden is probably Tom Sharpe's last genuinely good novel. Written in the mid '90s after his decade-long bout of writer's block and lukewarm comeback Grantchester Grind, The Midden is a gleeful little romp that reminded me of his earlier (and much better) Vintage Stuff in terms of structure and pacing.
It's loosely a satire on the effects of Thatcherism on modern life - one of the characters is a yuppie, another is a bent copper lay preacher who gives sermons about the holiness of the free market - but also a novel in which Tom Sharpe does away with his old bugbears of imperialism and colonialism. It's also a novel in which dogs get kicked in the knackers, ageing cosmetic surgery addicts with elevated navels get ravished and an ancient country house is destroyed in spectacular fashion.
So far, so Sharpe - and in the main, so good. But there's a curious change of style about 3/4 of the way into the book where Sharpe becomes much less expansive in his writing, he switches tenses around, meddles with chronology and - crucially - appears far less funny. It's almost as if his talents literally deserted him during the writing of this book. Which is a shame. But still, on the the whole it's OK. If you like his earlier works, you will still enjoy this one unlike, say, The Gropes.
It's loosely a satire on the effects of Thatcherism on modern life - one of the characters is a yuppie, another is a bent copper lay preacher who gives sermons about the holiness of the free market - but also a novel in which Tom Sharpe does away with his old bugbears of imperialism and colonialism. It's also a novel in which dogs get kicked in the knackers, ageing cosmetic surgery addicts with elevated navels get ravished and an ancient country house is destroyed in spectacular fashion.
So far, so Sharpe - and in the main, so good. But there's a curious change of style about 3/4 of the way into the book where Sharpe becomes much less expansive in his writing, he switches tenses around, meddles with chronology and - crucially - appears far less funny. It's almost as if his talents literally deserted him during the writing of this book. Which is a shame. But still, on the the whole it's OK. If you like his earlier works, you will still enjoy this one unlike, say, The Gropes.
April 25, 2021
Un libro de humor un tanto absurdo, basado en enredos y malentendidos, muy en la línea de Wilt, pero siendo éste bastante mejor.
April 11, 2013
Very funny, some very much laugh out loud. I love Tom Sharpe's style of taking a seemingly down and out hero, adding other extraordinary characters and mashing them together in all manner of preposterous situations that all meet in an hilarious climax. Wonderful stuff. I look out for his books whenever I can.
May 7, 2019
Back in the days when I had pretensions of becoming a writer I discovered what other readers have surely discovered simply by reading, namely: in order to give interest to a story the author needs to hurt his characters. I found this disconcerting and distasteful. You take time and thought and words to help bring a character to life and then you have to hurt him, physically or psychologically, just to get your story moving. I have since found that there are various ways authors handle this. One way is to dwell on the happy ending which is coming for - at least - the protagonist. Another way, often employed by the sad authors who win Nobel prizes is to dwell on the pain and suffering. But Tom Sharpe has developed a third way; create despicable, hateful characters who you can enjoy punishing. Some characters may flourish for awhile, but their utter downfall is assured. Need I add, mua-ha-ha? I think not.
I enjoyed The Midden, more even than Mr. Sharpe's school stories. Here are plenty of characters you will love to hate and a few you may find - mostly - sympathetic. Or just pathetic. The writing, as usual, is sharp and dry. One of my fellow Goodreaders complained about the obscenity and I can agree that even as hardened a modern reader as I've become, some things still jolted. But when dealing with corruption naturally some obscenity is required; as obscene as a burst boil.
Under the Sharpe whip in this outing are yuppies, gangsters, police officials, former colonials, the wealthy, social workers, conservatives, compulsive liars, old people, middle-aged people, lesbians, straights, sadomasochists, body fixaters, Maggie Thatcher, and - of course - hypocrites.
I have to admit that this was well done in the confines of a novel. The tempo is high, the smiles are many even if the laughs out loud are few. Everybody gets their just deserts, nearly, though quite a few get unjust deserts. Left on the field, neither bloody nor unbowed are a retired hermit and an aging spinster.
I enjoyed The Midden, more even than Mr. Sharpe's school stories. Here are plenty of characters you will love to hate and a few you may find - mostly - sympathetic. Or just pathetic. The writing, as usual, is sharp and dry. One of my fellow Goodreaders complained about the obscenity and I can agree that even as hardened a modern reader as I've become, some things still jolted. But when dealing with corruption naturally some obscenity is required; as obscene as a burst boil.
Under the Sharpe whip in this outing are yuppies, gangsters, police officials, former colonials, the wealthy, social workers, conservatives, compulsive liars, old people, middle-aged people, lesbians, straights, sadomasochists, body fixaters, Maggie Thatcher, and - of course - hypocrites.
I have to admit that this was well done in the confines of a novel. The tempo is high, the smiles are many even if the laughs out loud are few. Everybody gets their just deserts, nearly, though quite a few get unjust deserts. Left on the field, neither bloody nor unbowed are a retired hermit and an aging spinster.
April 17, 2022
Esta novela es un claro ejemplo de esas novelas que cuando salen son lo más (o quiero pensar que tuviese su popularidad cuando salió), pero con el paso de los años pierden fuelle.
El que se supone que es el protagonista de la novela (según la sinopsis de la contraportada) está ausente durante el 90% de la misma. Tiene chistes a los que no se les encuentra la puñetera gracia, referencias sexuales que a día de hoy se considerarían comentarios de muy mal gusto, maltrato animal, referencias al thatcherismo como culpable de ciertos bizarrismos de la sociedad inglesa de la época, y en general, un hilo argumental bastante desastroso (eso sin contar con que el que droguen con alcohol y medicinas al protagonista me parece de tener el gusto entre las nalgas).
En fin, me ha costado acabarle, pero lo hice pensando que mejoraría al final.
El que se supone que es el protagonista de la novela (según la sinopsis de la contraportada) está ausente durante el 90% de la misma. Tiene chistes a los que no se les encuentra la puñetera gracia, referencias sexuales que a día de hoy se considerarían comentarios de muy mal gusto, maltrato animal, referencias al thatcherismo como culpable de ciertos bizarrismos de la sociedad inglesa de la época, y en general, un hilo argumental bastante desastroso (eso sin contar con que el que droguen con alcohol y medicinas al protagonista me parece de tener el gusto entre las nalgas).
En fin, me ha costado acabarle, pero lo hice pensando que mejoraría al final.
October 25, 2017
I think I can best liken this book to an over-long and rambling joke whose eventual punchline is like one you've heard before only less funny. The lengthy set-up introduces a series of characters with their mildly amusing back-stories and peculiarities before completing the scene and then moving on to the next character. Timothy Bright, for example, is the pivotal character in all this and comes with a complete life-story. Unfortunately, once he's set things in motion, he's barely in the book at all.
The whole book does seem to be a build-up to the final showdown which has all the hallmarks of a Konstabel Els (Riotous Assembly) debacle. Yes it's funny and over-the-top, but Konstabel Els did it so much better and it was one of a serious of hilarious and outrageous scenes in Riotous Assembly. Interestingly, the individuals who perpetrated the Middenhall Holocaust were secondary characters with only the briefest of introductions. So there's pages and pages of back-story for non-relevant characters and very little provided on who's actually causing the mayhem.
Best give this one a miss.
The whole book does seem to be a build-up to the final showdown which has all the hallmarks of a Konstabel Els (Riotous Assembly) debacle. Yes it's funny and over-the-top, but Konstabel Els did it so much better and it was one of a serious of hilarious and outrageous scenes in Riotous Assembly. Interestingly, the individuals who perpetrated the Middenhall Holocaust were secondary characters with only the briefest of introductions. So there's pages and pages of back-story for non-relevant characters and very little provided on who's actually causing the mayhem.
Best give this one a miss.
July 7, 2012
When the midden hit the windmill, as Terry Pratchett would say.
September 16, 2013
I used to love Tom Sharpe back in the Seventies but this book was written in the Nineties and his satire and cynicism seem to have tipped over the edge into a quite unpleasant misanthropy.
February 14, 2014
Also bitte, liebe Herausgeber dieses Buches: wie kommt ihr um alles auf den deutschen Titel "Ein dicker Hund"? Nur wegen dem Rottweiler, der passend "Genscher" heißt und eine winzige Nebenrolle spielt? Weitere Hunde, ob dick oder auch dünn, waren leider für mich in dem Buch nicht zu finden. Der Originaltitel "The Midden" spielt auf das hoheitliche Geschlecht der Protagonisten an und passt. Den unzulänglichen Klappentext, der eine ganz andere Geschichte vorgaukelt ignoriere ich nun einfach mal großherzig.
Der Spiegel, der vor allem den „Besserdenkenden“ erneut durch Sharpe vor gehoben wird ist geprägt von beißender Satire. Aber an mancher Stelle ist er so sehr übertrieben, das angefangen wird in eher langweilige Klischees abzurutschen.
Ich bin hin und her gerissen: das Buch hat unglaublich helle Momente bei denen der Schalk nur so los bricht. Vor allem der apokalyptische Schluss gibt unheimlich viel des subtilen Humors, der in Sharpe steckte, wieder. Auf der anderen Seite zieht sich der Roman über viele Seiten leider wie Kaugummi.
3*
Der Spiegel, der vor allem den „Besserdenkenden“ erneut durch Sharpe vor gehoben wird ist geprägt von beißender Satire. Aber an mancher Stelle ist er so sehr übertrieben, das angefangen wird in eher langweilige Klischees abzurutschen.
Ich bin hin und her gerissen: das Buch hat unglaublich helle Momente bei denen der Schalk nur so los bricht. Vor allem der apokalyptische Schluss gibt unheimlich viel des subtilen Humors, der in Sharpe steckte, wieder. Auf der anderen Seite zieht sich der Roman über viele Seiten leider wie Kaugummi.
3*
May 28, 2014
Not as good or as funny as Wilt or Porterhouse Blue. Still, it's well written and it does compel you yo continue reading.
December 19, 2015
if you haven't read Tom Sharpe before DO NOT READ THIS!....his earlier books are great but this barely raised a smile...one and a half stars
April 14, 2021
Let start by saying that I never lost interest in this book. It held my attention throughout, and that is mainly due to Sharpe's weird sense of humour. Most of the jokes are not funny, but I was constantly re-reading paragraphs in order to try and understand the joke.
This has to be the most erratic Tom Sharpe novel that I have read. It begins with an introduction to the Bright family, in particular, Timothy Bright. For the first 90 pages (1/3rd of the book) we follow the exploits of Timothy and there is no mention of the Midden. Once Timothy arrives at the Midden, the focus switches away from Timothy and onto the residents at the Midden, and the people trying to bring its downfall. For the rest of the story, Timothy is reduced to a secondary character and his tale is never resolved.
Sharpe introduces us to (too) many characters at apparently random times, which left me wondering why am I reading about someone who has no bearing on the story so far. Eventually, all the characters do come together, but it is difficult to follow the contributions of the different Majors, Sirs and other random characters we meet on the journey.
In summary, I felt that the author was trying too hard to be funny, and lost sight of the structure and plot of the story.
This has to be the most erratic Tom Sharpe novel that I have read. It begins with an introduction to the Bright family, in particular, Timothy Bright. For the first 90 pages (1/3rd of the book) we follow the exploits of Timothy and there is no mention of the Midden. Once Timothy arrives at the Midden, the focus switches away from Timothy and onto the residents at the Midden, and the people trying to bring its downfall. For the rest of the story, Timothy is reduced to a secondary character and his tale is never resolved.
Sharpe introduces us to (too) many characters at apparently random times, which left me wondering why am I reading about someone who has no bearing on the story so far. Eventually, all the characters do come together, but it is difficult to follow the contributions of the different Majors, Sirs and other random characters we meet on the journey.
In summary, I felt that the author was trying too hard to be funny, and lost sight of the structure and plot of the story.
August 25, 2021
Full of crazy characters and scenarios as with all Tom Sharpe's books.A greatly amusing read..
July 12, 2016
I don't really know what to say about this one. This book's plot is completely-over-the-top absurd, and things just keep getting more and more crazy/implausible as the story progresses. As is usually the case for a Sharpe novel there are some major - reasonably plausible - misunderstandings/misconstruals driving key parts of the plot at various times, and as usual they're reasonably well thought out and quite funny.
When reading the book, at some point you'll have to stop thinking along the lines of '...hmm, is this an even remotely plausible turn of events?' and instead start thinking along the lines of '...I wonder what crazy plot development he'll introduce next?' I assume some people will find a book like this one downright unreadable, but if you do like this sort of stuff it's definitely a worthwhile read.
When reading the book, at some point you'll have to stop thinking along the lines of '...hmm, is this an even remotely plausible turn of events?' and instead start thinking along the lines of '...I wonder what crazy plot development he'll introduce next?' I assume some people will find a book like this one downright unreadable, but if you do like this sort of stuff it's definitely a worthwhile read.
November 20, 2014
Tom Sharpe has done it again. My life was once again suspended whilst I wallowed in the gossip fodder of his characters. He has the knack of introducing characters with no palpable attributes and telling you about their plights with no clue about whether this means they are about to get their just desserts or continue to outwit karma. Maybe it's just me. But I swear I have met most of his characters or their soul mates. And his rendition of their thought processes only seems to confirm the fact. It's a fun read with wonderful characters spilling onto the pages. I believe the modern world would call it dark comedy. When I die, they'll find a complete library of Tom Sharpe in my bookcase. I recommend you give this book a try.
August 29, 2016
Someone had recommended the book Wilt by the same author but I could only find this at the library so I thought I'd read it anyway.
I've got mixed feelings about this book. I didn't totally enjoy it but I didn't not like it either. I thought there were some funny moments - though not laugh out loud ones - but there were also times when I thought that it was a bit too slapstick and it got tiring after a while. It is a bit like the One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed....including policemen who didn't seem to know what to do. It did keep my attention because I wanted to see what happened in the end. In the last couple of chapters, I more or less skimmed through the pages in order to finish it.
I've got mixed feelings about this book. I didn't totally enjoy it but I didn't not like it either. I thought there were some funny moments - though not laugh out loud ones - but there were also times when I thought that it was a bit too slapstick and it got tiring after a while. It is a bit like the One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed....including policemen who didn't seem to know what to do. It did keep my attention because I wanted to see what happened in the end. In the last couple of chapters, I more or less skimmed through the pages in order to finish it.
December 2, 2010
An odd story that wanders through the lives of a group of wealthy characters and a local police force. It took me quite a while to get into the story, but once I did it kept me moving along. The characters are interesting, but since the story jumps from one character perspective to another, you never really get to know any of them.
The story climaxes over the last hundred pages from a slow simmer to a full rolling boil, with some very funny bits.
Not one of my favorite books, but an interesting read.
The story climaxes over the last hundred pages from a slow simmer to a full rolling boil, with some very funny bits.
Not one of my favorite books, but an interesting read.
August 28, 2017
Evidently, the latter books by Tom Sharpe are not as funny as the earliest. The humour here is more heavy handed, the plot resolutions and situations are often brutal, bloody and not much fun except for the blackest of dispositions.
Perhaps I am thinking of the Wilt series, mainly, which was hardly innocent, but the accumulation of situations and running jokes reached a different kind of climax in each book, that doesn't necessarily imply people getting shot or blown up. Call me a pansy, but I enjoyed that kind of resolutions so much more.
Perhaps I am thinking of the Wilt series, mainly, which was hardly innocent, but the accumulation of situations and running jokes reached a different kind of climax in each book, that doesn't necessarily imply people getting shot or blown up. Call me a pansy, but I enjoyed that kind of resolutions so much more.
February 1, 2019
Fairly entertaining for the most part, but a bit overdone overall - misjudged too; there's nothing funny about prostitutes assisting the wounded and inadvertently giving them AIDS. Or maybe I'm just a snowflake. Also there are too many confusing bits towards the end, like where did Miss Midden's big box of money come from when she'd already returned the stolen money? And why would Bright ever be marrying the Phoebe character? That's not really a spoiler because it is only suggested that it will happen, but still...
March 18, 2013
I had not read anything funny by 60 pages in (which means either I accidentally skipped over it, or it wasn't in there), so I donated it to a charity shop. If this is your type of thing, St. Michael's in Starbeck will have it for 99 pence.
February 20, 2014
The story was fun, but was there really a need for the vulgar, almost depraved scenes? the abusive language towards the end did NOTHING to aid the plot line or the flow of the text... a shame really because I'd been told he was a really good author.
October 12, 2016
The great British satirist Tom Sharpe again firing on all cylinders in a wild, preposterous romp through the English countryside and class system. Later than, and perhaps not quite on the same level as, his Wilt and Porterhouse Blue masterworks, but still a terrific book.
August 12, 2008
ok...not as good as others
September 22, 2008
en cours, très drôle comme toujours avec Sharpe mais la construction est inégale et n'atteint pas les sommets des Wilt. Mais dès que je l'ai terminé je passe à La grande poursuite, histoire de voir.
May 23, 2009
After a long dry spell, Sharpe returned with this and GRANTCHESTER GRIND in rapid succession. Neither were really up to scratch, but THE MIDDEN is the better of the two.
September 17, 2010
Picked up out of a book exchange when I was desparate and was a suprisingly good farcical read with a few out loud laughs. Would recommend only to those with a zany sense of humour.
December 6, 2010
un des tom sharpe que je trouve moins bon. on y rit moins... j'ai été assez déçu. guère de cruauté, peu de bons gags.
July 25, 2011
fun but not one of his best
September 18, 2013
Started off OK but it faded into nothing. Some of the one liners were too cruel or blunt
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews