Wilt In Nowhere
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Amazon.co.uk Review
One of the most impressive things about Wilt in Nowhere is that Tom Sharpe manages to go on being outrageous and funny after such a long career--after all, what does a satirist do when real world lifestyles and events exceed his wildest earlier inventions? The answer is, of course, that he just goes on making wonderful things up--this is the first novel about his quietly stroppy, lazy-as-hell college lecturer hero Wilt for 20 years, and Wilt is as funny in an era of e-mail and NHS cuts as he was back then.
There is also a gentle nostalgia in some of the writing here. Wilt's hike through the English countryside in early chapters has pastoral charm in patches as well as a sarcastic sense of rural dereliction. Sharpe's sense of rural American life is rather more broad-brush, but the damage inflicted on an obnoxious millionaire by Wilt's four terrifying daughters shows a sense of just how power works.
This is a gentler book than some of Sharpe's satires, but he still has all of his bitter irony intact; this is not the book of someone who has mellowed in later life. --Roz Kaveney --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
"The funniest novelist writing today."
--"The Times"
"From the Hardcover edition." --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
--"The Times"
"From the Hardcover edition." --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In a South Bank Show special about Tom Sharpe a couple of years ago, the great man was asked about his very slow output in recent years. Two problems were at the root: a serious heart condition and equally serious writer's block. Sharpe told Melvyn Bragg that he'd used his barbecue to burn about 1500 pages of text on the grounds that it didn't make him laugh. He also described his humour as "juvenile." Be that as it may, at his best Sharpe has been truly inspired, creating edgy mayhem and scream-out-loud laughter that few if any writer could match - consume and discard humourous literature par excellence.
So it's with heavy heart that I can confirm Sharpe's waning powers, based on the evidence presented by Wilt in Nowhere. The plotting devices and characterisations are as vivid as ever - Sharpe's instinct for farce is still as strong as ever. But the laughter is but a pale shadow of his finest achievements. The 1500 discarded pages must have made grim reading indeed if the final volume of Wilt's adventures is anything to go by.
The two separate plotlines - Eva and quads in the USA, Wilt on a walking tour and for much of the book in deep concussion, fails to add up to a coherent whole, and lacks much of the edge and sense of orchestrated debate displayed in earlier Wilt epics. If the moral of the tale is anywhere, Wilt in Nowhere says that taking an unambitious family holiday prevents chaos! Sharpe appears to said everything worth saying.
Furthermore, Wilt's arch adversary Inspector Flint has a comparatively minor role to play, though readers will be gratified to know his understanding of the Wilts is no greater now than ever before, albeit infinitely more advanced than his over-promoted peer, Hodge.
It's disappointing to see a once great writer well below his peak powers, and I wish Tom Sharpe a happy retirement. But I'd sooner remember him by earlier books, those that had me helpless with laughter.
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I normally do my reading in bad late at night. Some 20 years ago the bed shook regularly with laughter and giggles and my eyes frequently went out of focus through tears of mirth. As another reader says one dared not read Tom Sharpe on public transport for fear of uncontrollable fits of giggles. How I looked forward to the recent book after such a lengthy gap in time. But, such disappointment in the end. No uncontrollable giggles, no bursting guffaws, only a slight wimper of enjoyment and an occasional smile. Alas, all good things come to an end and history cannot be repeated. Wilt is dead, long live...... no, Wilt is dead.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having read all Tom's novels over the past 26 yrs, and a great fan,i was dissapointed in his latest,i just raised the odd smile,whereas before i would laugh out loud on public transport even,but not this one.New readers to Tom,must not be put off,and will be well rewarded by reading all his other hilarious yarns from the beginning.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Is this really a Wilt?
Having read many Tom Sharpe books and laughed out loud to the point of feeling incredibly uncomfortable in public, I was happy to see a "new" book (albeit published a few years... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Nick
Wilt In Nowhere
I love Tom Sharpes Books and pretty much have read every one of them.
I loved this episode of Wilt and am eagerly waiting for the new one to arrive. Read more
I loved this episode of Wilt and am eagerly waiting for the new one to arrive. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Dawnie
Wilting
I hadn't read a Tom Sharpe book in years(probably 20+) having worked my way through pretty much his entire first phase of writing in a short space of time. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mr. M. Broad
whitty and sharp as ever
The Wilt saga continues in Tom Sharpe's normal madcap way. It's just like Brian Rix with a hard edge.
Published on 12 April 2010 by Mrs. Bronwen Turner
give up now Tom!
Looked forward to reading this as I used to enjoy the hysterical goings on in Toms books,but Oh dear,what has happened? Read more
Published on 10 Feb 2010 by palace pier
worth the read
Tom Sharpe - doing what he does well, extending the life of a classic character
Published on 8 Jan 2010 by Mr. Charles P. Ross
Wilt is back
It is a good few years ago that I last read a novel that contained the protagonists Henry and Eva Wilt, but my memories of this couple soon came flooding back. Read more
Published on 12 Aug 2009 by LindyLouMac
Unreadable
I used to love the Tom Sharpe books so witty and cleverly written - how many books actually make you laugh out loud as his did. But note, past tense. Read more
Published on 22 July 2009 by G. M. Phillips
Not Tom's work?
Wilt in Nowhere is nothing like as good as Mr Sharpe's previous Wilt (or other) novels. I would be very surprised if Mr Sharpe wrote the book at all - more like a ghost writer... Read more
Published on 19 July 2009 by Sharpe fan
Very funny
After I read the rather indifferent reviews here, I nearly didn't buy this. But I did, and I' very glad I did. Read more
Published on 26 Feb 2009 by J. Hosier
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