| The Throwback | 
 enlarge | Author: Tom Sharpe
Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy New: £2.60
You Save: £5.39 (67%)
New (32) Used (10) from £2.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 76389
Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 0099435527
EAN: 9780099435525
ASIN: 0099435527
Publication Date: November 7, 2002
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
|
| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 19 | | NEXT » |
 Disappointed August 22, 2008
I have loved and enjoyed all the Wilt books and thought this was another one just as good..wrong...!
It started off OK but very quickly went from amusing to really OTT verging on stupid and not like Wilt at all. I can't understand all the readers who found it funny and amusing....the songs and the poetry were OK once around but got to be boring very quickly..definitely wouldn't recommend it.
 One Third Extra Hound per Pound July 23, 2008
Tom Sharpe was born in London in 1928. He is perhaps best known for "Porterhouse Blue" and his Wilt series, both of which have been adapted for television. "The Throwback" is one of his standalone novels.
Lockhart Flawse has had a rather unusual upbringing. He was born in September 1956, in the shadow of a stone wall after his mother was thrown from her horse. Although he came through the labour alive - though, thanks to a patch of nettles, not entirely unscathed - his mother unfortunately didn't. This upset his grandfather, Edwin, somewhat - more so that she wasn't married and had steadfastly refused to name the boy's father. Lockhart was raised and educated entirely on his grandfather's estate. However, the lack of a birth certificate meant he didn't officially exist - his grandfather says he'll only register him when he knows who the father is. The education he received ensured he was an expert shot with excellent mental arithmetic and a high degree of fluency in Urdu, he knows somewhat less about human reproduction than his mother did.
Flawse the Elder is not an admirable character - it's entirely possible he was a close relation of Monty Burns. (He suffers from a nagging suspicion that he might be the Lockhart's father, as well as his grandfather - he's not entirely certain than a drunken encounter with the housekeeper wasn't a drunken encounter with someone else entirely). Unsurprisingly, he suffers from an acute superiority complex, enjoys hunting, fishing and shooting and - although he acknowledges that sex necessary for procreation - also takes the view that it's generally disgusting. However, when it comes to sex, he'll grasp every available opportunity to be disgusted.
Although Lockhart has had a very sheltered life, things change dramatically when he and his grandfather take a cruise. On-board, they meet the stunningly beautiful Jessica Sandicott and her widowed mother - naturally, the young couple fall head over heels in love and are swiftly married by the ship's captain. (This happens not only with the approval of their aged relatives, but practically at the insistence - they're both desperate to get rid of their dependents). However, as part of the negotiations, Edwin and Jessica's mother also wind up married. Mrs Sandicott is delighted, believing her new husband to be not only exceptionally rich, but also close to death. Unfortunately, it hasn't crossed her mind that she might be marrying someone at least as devious as she is : Edwin knows exactly what she is up to, and views her only as a housekeeper who will never need paying. On their return to England, the games the older pair play have all sorts of implications for the younger pair...and things turn a little dangerous when Edwin draws up his will. Luckily for the young couple, Lockhart proves to be every bit as devious as his grandfather. He can also rely on the help of Dodds, the gamekeeper at Flawse Hall, and two of his grandfather's old acquaintances: Dr Magrew and Mr Bullstrode, his solicitor.
A fast moving and occasionally daft book, though certainly funny and a very enjoyable read.
 Brillant March 8, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I read this book for the first time on a train journey. I think the people in the place thought I was gone mad I laughed so much. When I came home, I gave the book to my late father who must have read it every year until his death, he actually broke the spine of the book. I consider the scene when the doctor asks him about Lockhart his sexual relations with his wife the funniest I have ever read. Buy the Book and weap!!!
Tom Sharpe - The throwback January 24, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I first read this book many years ago, and continue to re-visit it to this day - it is the funniest novel I have ever read.
The first time I read the chapter about the old army colonel & the french letter I was sitting on the train travelling home, and got very odd looks from my fellow commuters - you cannot help but laugh out loud at the absurd but plausible scene that unfolds in the Colonels bedroom.
On lending the book to family members & friends, it has never returned, causing me to be on my 8th or 9th copy - it is that popular.
I don't think anything Tom Sharpe has done before or since live up to the quality of this book - although some come close.
A "Throwback" in time. November 23, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The first time I read this book, I was on the bus to work trying (unsuccessfully) not to laugh out loud at Tom Sharp's insane wit. His evocative style of writing allows the reader to experience humour in the most bizarre situations imaginable. I shall never be able to use a cheesegrater again without recalling the events desccribed in this comic caper.
|
|
|
