Customer Reviews
Spoof at apartheid - By: Jay, 29 Apr 2007 
Tom Sharpe's spoof at apartheid is brilliantly written & its comical sense of way also exposes the tragedy of apartheid; an extreme form of the caste system where mankind was segregated on the sole basis of skin colour.
There is a torture scenein the book which reveals the extent a prisoner reveals depending on the degree of torture. He gets tortured so much that inthe end, he loses his mind & starts telling stories.
Only Tom Sharpe could write a book so funny you are giggling all through it but also so powerful at making you understand how apartheid really worked. All of his works should rank among the bestin the field of comedy; this one should be also recommended to political science students.
An Unrestratined Comic Pummeling of the RSA - By: A. Ross, 25 Jan 2005 
If you're everin the mood for a hugely over-the-top farce about apartheid-era South Africa, well, this is the book for you. Sharpe spent a decade there before being deported as a subversive, & after reading this unrestrained comic pummeling of the RSA, one can only wonder why it took the authorities so long to give him the boot. Indeed authority is target number onein this fast-paced story setin the small city of Piemburg. It all starts when an elderly semi-aristocratic Englishwoman calls the police to report that she's shot her Zulu cook. Refusing police Kommandant van Heerden's best attempts to cover up the matter, she reveals that the cook was also her lover, which so appalls him that he immediately declares a state of emergency & mobilizes the entire police force. And so begins a massive comedy of errors,in which a "Kaffir-Killer" Konstabel Els plays a large role, as does the slimy Luitenant Veerkamp, & matters take a turn for the utterly bizarre, as rubber fetishes, bondage, a drunken bishop, porno films, cross dressing, & penile novocain injections are all introduced to the plot. As one might surmise from such a litany, the plot spins ever more wildly out of control until events come to a head at--appropriately enough--the insane asylum. All the antics are intermittently funny, & it's somewhat refreshing to see the horrors of apartheid treated with rather less than the usual gravitas. Worth a read if you've got a special interestin South Africa or a soft spot for broad farce, otherwise not all that noteworthy.
Murderously Funny!! - By: , 30 Aug 2004 
Riotous Assembly is a hysterically funny satire, setin the mid 20th Century South Africa.
Sharpe has taken aspects of the South African police force, which would otherwise be of serious matter & turned it into a witty & enjoyable insight into the apartheid era.
Unique & quirky characters contribute to a twisting & intriguing plot, which will make your head spin.
Even if the subject matter does not appeal to all, Sharpe's savagely hillarious approach will make you laugh out loud.
Riotous Assembly - By: , 07 Nov 2003 This book should carry a health warning! There were times during the reading of this book that I laughed so much I could hardly breathe. It is Tom Sharpe at his best & the book is laced with his well known brand of humour & ridiculous though somehow believable plots! The setting has since been superceeded but I don't think it detracts from the bookin anyway. Not for the faint hearted or easily offended!
As good as the book - By: , 26 Jul 2003 I read the bookin my teenage years & all the action then is brought to life with these tapes.
Simon Callow reads it brillantly; his accents are great; he sets the scenes well & none of the swearing is removed - which would spoil it.
I think this is his best book by far & I recomend reading the book or listening to the tapes.
Probably not for the politicaly correct!
