The Gropes by Tom Sharpe (2010-06-10) Paperback Bunko – January 1, 1770

As a fan of Tom Sharpe's farces (having read five others), I was disappointed with this. The plot meanders and eventually peters out. I found myself saying at the end, "Well, I guess that's it. End of story," which is not what you want your reader to feel. It lacks the social edge or thematic focus of others (the lunacy of apartheid and anglophilia or the shady dealings of British public schools), which provided a context and backdrop for the lunatic shenanigans of the characters. Without that, the characters are merely eccentric with little to make them more deeply comic. So skip this one and go to his much better works, the two South African ones (Riotous Assembly and Indecent Exposure), the British public school satires, Porterhouse Blue and Grantchester Grind, or the incomparable Wilt.

If you like your humour darker than dark and your naughty scenes cringe-worthy, you have probably been looking for Tom Sharp. His novels take place where the men are weak, the women are scary looking, and the children are above-- No, they're all just repulsive, every single character. Sharpe makes good use of the myth that sex is rather creepy amongst the Brits. Bad behaviour is such an understatement it bears no resemblance to the plotting and scheming that eventually involves every bizarre character. The laughs are sometimes groans and the action often producs a wince. Like I said, funny, dark, and shuddery. Gird your loins and dig in, just don't be surprised if you're gigging your o grave.

I discovered Tom Sharpe in a W.H. Smith in the tube station at Leicester Square probably 25 years ago and fell immediately in love. So when I happened to discover this book, and several other newer ones, I was ecstatic. Yes, other reviewers commented that the humor was forced and not up to snuff, but I couldn't pass up the chance. Alas, they were right. This, and the other later efforts, including Wilt in Nowhere and The Middens, just don't live up to his earlier works. I cringe even to say it, but I was bored, had to force myself to finish and can't remember a single out-loud chuckle let alone the side-splitting, laugh-till-you-cry hilarity of his classics. My suggestion, go reread The Throwback or Wilt or Blott on the Landscape and revel in Sharpe at his best.

Tom Sharpe was a terrific writer. I've read all of his books and this is far from the best. Look for Blott on the Landscape, Riotous Assembly or Porterhouse Blue to read him at his best.

This has to be the worst book written by Tom Sharpe. Repetitive drivel that does not show the absolute brilliance of this comic author.

Far from his best work, Tom Sharpe's original style still shines through in his latest effort. The author is still strongly capable of carrying his intricately developed characters through a series of incredibly unpredictable events which present an entertaining and humorous story to the reader. As in his other recent works of the past decade, Sharpe commits the error of allowing his own political views to enter the published pages through short quips and cracks directed at real life events and government leaders. In each case, these unnecessary lines add absolutely nothing of value to the tale and ultimately serve only to weaken the story and wound those fans who have faithfully followed Tom Sharpe's incredible career for decades.

Fantastic read ,eloquently written though quite a remarkable sudden end. The vocabulary used is well researched and appropriately placed. It is a worthwhile read for the discerning adult.

Typical Tom SRude and very funnyharpe

Having read all of Mr Sharpe's other books I bought this in spite of some dreadful reviews. Sadly, I have to say they were correct. Had this been submitted to a publisher as a first novel we would likely never have heard of Tom Sharpe as it would not have been published in a million years. It is a weak humourless hollow ghost of an effort that could easily have been written as a poor parody of Tom Sharpe rather than by the man himself. It promises little yet still fails to deliver. The ending in particular is incredibly weak, as though a twelve year old rushing to finish his English language homework has just realised that there's something good on the telly. Furthermore, as stated by a previous reviewer, it is in large script with dozens of empty pages and the final 15 pages are actually a taster for a different book. With normal type set as in other Sharpe books this would scarcely fill 130 pages. I am a slow reader and finished this in four hours. Please avoid this at all costs as it will only taint your view of an otherwise brilliant writer. I do not know what Mr Sharpe or the publishers were thinking about, letting this monstrosity onto the market. This only gets one star because the system does not allow me to give it zero. It is that bad!

Not as savage, brutal, destructive or vulgar as previous Tom Sharpe farces but still a worthy book if one considers it was written well into old-age and having just read the last of the Wilt books and found it lacking, I was relieved to find the author did have one more half-decent book in him.It centres around a matriarchal family who, determined to have female children at all cost, will go to any lengths to secure that aim, whether it be by kidnap and forced marriage or just plain illegitimacy - anything to get girl babies to carry on the Grope bloodline. The reluctant bridegrooms are forced to change their names to Grope and rejected if they produce male children. This continues for hundreds of years until the family has practically died out.When we meet the main protagonists, they seem to have very little relation to the initial theme and I found myself thumbing through the book to see if I'd missed something until I realised that, as usual, it all comes together at the end via an unnecessarily complicated, violent and destructive plot - a la Tom Sharpe!He hasn't quite lost it with this book as he had with the last Wilt one but it's gentler, less complicated and easier reading than his first books although still as funny, crude and farcical.I won't give away the rest of the plot but what I will say is that despite the author's mellowing, it's still a worthy book in true Tom Sharpe style and there's a lovely ending that justifies all the complicated twisty-turning that it takes to reach it.

I am somewhat surprised at all the negative comments, but they are all from devout Sharpe fans. If you are not a regular reader of Tom's efforts, do not let those impressions influence you negatively.It is true that the "goings-on" have been created from a somewhat standard Sharpe "template" and the character types a little regurgitated from earlier works. However, if you hark back to the beginnings, Riotous Assembly and Indecent Exposure were packed to the rafters with the most improbable, unbelievable and impossible situations. Each subsequent Tom Sharpe tome followed this trend - but each was hailed for it's "lunatic fantasy" or "fiendish inventiveness."Here in "The Gropes" we have much of the same, but told in such delightfully Tom Sharpe fashion. The wording - whether descriptive or dialogue - is very much the stuff that makes you laugh out loud (embarrassingly if on a Bus or Train) or puts a smile on your face while you shake your head in disbelief.It is pure farce, built from the same rocks as Shakespeare's "Comedy of Errors," the old "Brian Rix Farces" on TV or even "Fawlty Towers." You cannot help but laugh at situations brought about by total misunderstandings, jumping to conclusions, misinterpretations and Tom Sharpe's open ridiculing and obvious contempt (perhaps) for the Police Force.For newcomers to Sharpe, or for the occasional reader even, this book is guaranteed to amuse, bemuse and - despite the poor ending - leave you wanting more. Tom Sharpe DOES have an inventive mind... for situations that most people couldn't even think possible. That's the beauty and glory of it all.

Tom Sharpe was a master of farce and black comedy. Note the 'was' because this is a big let down. It's a terrible shame because the author has given us some absolute gems over the years, real laugh out loud stuff, but in this it appears the magic has gone.It's a very short book 244 pages approx and deals with a dynasty of strong women who dominate their husbands and seek to produce further female off-spring to keep the line going. Unsuspecting males are enticed through various means to continue the female bloodline.Mr Sharpe can write and gives us detailed and amusing pictures of the characters and spends some while setting up the frame and the characterisation for his story. But then it all goes a bit flat, the Gropes saga becomes second fiddle to the Police thinking there has been a murder, very much in the fashion we have seen before from Tom Sharpe, so it felt a little tired.In the end the book felt both short and rushed and, sadly, not in the least bit amusing. Not the book for Tom Sharpe fans and certainly not the book for someone wanting to try his works. Best avoided.

I have read a lot , and laughed a lot whilst reading Tom Sharpes books, from the throwback, through riotous Assembly and enjoyed them all. But this outing, I found OK, mediocre. Funny in places, albeit less places. The storyline took a long time to set up, to build up, only to be let down, with almost a " and they all lived happily ever after. Not his best, if I had read this first, it would have been the last