Wilt

I came across this book while reading an article on the "10 funniest books of all time." Of course there are inevitable arguments about what should or should not be on that list, but the fact that I was ready for a humorous read after several excellent but depressing WWII novels, Wilt looked worth a try. Briefly, Wilt is a career underachiever at the small Fenland College of Arts and Technology. Continually passed over for promotions and pay increases, his life is on a dead end path consisting of teaching classes no one else will take to vocational students working in labor professions, i.e. butchers, bricklayers, etc. who are only attending because the government is covering their costs and it gets them out of work for a while. Wilt sleepwalks through these classes, having given up on trying to expose this underclass to literature at any level. But, as it turns out later, his exposure to these rather rough but street smart and rather plain spoken (yes, there is sexual language) group actually prepares him for the travails he will undergo later in the book.His marriage to his wife Eva is equally dissatisfying. She is convinced he will never amount to anything - and frequently reminds of him of this shortcoming. She envisions herself as an enlightened woman, constantly pursuing (but never sticking with) various yoga, meditation, and similar "new age" interests. Wilt's life, in short, is dreary, repetitive, and wholly unsatisfying. One of his outlets, in a sort of "Walter Mitty" turn, is to take his dog for walks and not only dream of, but logically think out plans to get rid of Eva. He sorts through various ideas, from poison to auto accidents to - whatever. They are more stress relief efforts; his desperate attempt to at least visualize a better life.The real story begins when Eva meets a new age couple, the Pringsheim's, Sally and Gaskell. They are unbearably pretentious and off the map sexually liberated. Eva is of course entranced, and Sally senses that Eva can be manipulated (sexually and otherwise), and as a result Wilt and Eva attend a party at the Pringsheim's house. It involves nudity, crude language and acts (the only part of the book I found less than satisfying was the Pringsheim's - they are definitely "not likable," but do serve as a good foil and plot device for the story). It is at the party that Wilt, as a result of machinations by Sally Pringsheim, becomes 'attached' to an inflatable female sex doll, "Judy." And the real story begins...Wilt ends up leaving the party to go home to find a way to "unattach" himself from the doll, while Eva ends up (liberal amounts of alcohol involved) leaving with the Pringsheims on a boating trip. Wilt, not overly concerned about Eva's absence and unknown whereabouts, decides to use "Judy" as a means to practice his plans for getting rid of Eva. This leads to "Judy" ending up at the bottom of a construction hole at Fenland College, and Wilt being investigated for the murder of Eva. His adversary is Inspector Flint. The remainder of the book focuses on his conversations with Inspector Flint and others in their efforts to get him to confess to Eva's murder.The interaction between Wilt and Inspector Flint (and his other police peers) is hilarious. The satire is marvelous and entertaining. The interesting part is that Wilt, a career sub-achiever, finally comes into his own. He knows he is innocent, and as the investigation goes on (filled with endless police mixups, wrong assumptions, and an exasperating inability to break down Wilt), Wilt gains confidence and a sense of self worth for the first time in his life.The ending, as is the entire book, is entirely satisfying and appropriate. This is inimitable British satire, done well. Aside from the off-putting Pringsheims, the characters are well drawn (in a caricature manner) and the central humor, again, is the bumbling police vs. the suddenly inimitable Wilt. I laughed a lot throughout, and think you will as well. It is a light read, and a good break from reading "heavy" novels. I wouldn't put it in the class of Wodehouse, but it certainly does have elements of his writing style. Read it and enjoy.

I first read about Tom Sharpe when they announced his death a couple of months ago. I had never heard of him, but he was quite famous overseas. His obituary intrigued me enough that I ordered Wilt from Amazon. Witty and satiric, I was surprised that I had never heard of the book or Sharpe. Or Henry Wilt.Henry Wilt, Assistant Professor at Fenland College of Arts & Technology, is in a bit of a state of burnout at home and at work. His main problem at home? His wife Eva, who, despite the many self-improvement classes she has taken, still feels restless and open to any new direction. Eva's problem? She'd like a little more romance from her dear Henry, whom she criticizes for this and his lack of ambition.Enter Sally Pringsheim, a supposed free spirit who implores Eva to cast off her dull Henry and join the swingers world she and her husband Gaskell inhabit. Eva drags Henry to one of Sally's parties, and thanks to a blow-up doll named Judy, a stolen boat and a murder investigation, their rut will never be the same.Sharpe is a master at creating comic characters, and despite the absurdity of some of the situations, keeps the events believable throughout. The chapters involving Wilt and a police inspector named Flint are particularly funny, as well as the chapter involving the excavation of Judy the blowup doll from a hole in the campus grounds. The entire book hums along, thanks to Sharpe's well-paced character-driven comedy, and I was reminded of the books of Peter Devries. I even felt the ending a satisfying one, a problem that occasionally arises with a novel such as this.

This is still a very funny book, surely a gold-standard member of the British humour club. It was released in 1976 and it must have been regarded as terribly risqué then.Tom Sharpe was a masterful writer. The story, of course, is absurd but that's one of the things I enjoyed about it. It's a short, (dare I say it) Sharpe read and if you feel the need to escape from reality for a few hours, I couldn't recommend a novel more highly.I'm sure some of my high school English teachers would have had palpitations to read some of his sentences. (I counted six or seven instances of 'and' in one sentence). And his use of adverbs far exceeds what is fashionable nowadays. But I sense he broke these rules for effect -- because he clearly knew what he was doing. I wouldn't mind being half-as-good a writer.He conjured up some great characters. The central one is Henry Wilt, who is wonderfully obtuse.He made good use of stereotypes too (yes, some police really were that dumb years ago) (having worked for a while in academia I saw no evidence that academics would mend their factional back-biting ways in a hurry, so they ring quite true on the book) (Americans did seem a bit odd back then) (and I'm sure Wilt's wife would have got over her fixation for Harpic toilet cleaner).He throws all these characters together and we get to see how they interact! The result is one hell of a comedic novel.

If you haven't read any Tom Sharpe, this is as good a place to start as any. If you like your farce dark and laced with acid, if your view of life is on the absurd end of the spectrum, and if you tend to believe that if there is a God, then a) she doesn't really give a flying fig about us, and b) we haven't quite caught on to her sense of humor yet, then this is the book for you. I won't give any of the plot away. I'll only say that I laughed out loud literally half a dozen times (and I mean "literally" in its proper usage), and that if ever the community college instructors and non-tenured adjuncts of the world unite, we will march under the banner of "Wilt!"BTW, I recommend the mid-70s paperbacks if you can get them for the R. Crumb-inspired cover art. Adds to the enjoyment.

from a great enterainer writer

Arrivato in tempo, nuovo, libro interessante!

Me había propuesto empezar a leer los libros directamente en inglés. En el idioma que fueron escritos. Este con su contenido alegre e interesante me consiguió atrapar y mantenerme en la traducción.

Tom Sharpe versteht es wie kein anderer Charaktere zu erschaffen, die so archetypisch sind, dass man schon bevor sie etwas sagen weiß: "Ärger ist vorprogrammiert" und für den Leser Lachen umso mehr.In Wilt, auf dem deutschen Markt als "Puppenmord - Bis das Ihr Tod ihn Scheidet" erschienen, geht es um den intellektuell verqueren und sexuell impotenten Berufsschullehrer Henry Wilt, dessen exentrische und korpulente Ehefrau und eine ganze Reihe anderer Charaktere. Nach dem Henry von seiner leicht zu beeindruckenden Frau zu einer Party bei den Pringsheims mitgeschleppt wurde und dort aufs niedrigste sexuell belästigt und genötigt wurde, plant er in betrunkenem Zustand den Mord an seiner Frau. Mit eben jener Sexpuppe, die ihm bei den Pringsheims den Ärger seines Lebens eingebrockt hat, übt er den Mord an seiner Frau. Als die Puppe jedoch in dem Bauloch in das sie Henry schmeißt am nächsten Tag zugeschüttet wird, entsteht der Glauben jemand hätte eine echte Frau heimtückisch hinunter gestoßen.Währen Henry Wilt in immer neuen Ausreden Inspektor Flint klarzumachen versucht, dass es sich um eine Sexpuppe in dem nun bis zum Rand mit Beton gefüllten Loch handelt, befindet sich Eva längst auf einer Bootstour mit der sich anbandelnden Sally Pringsheim und ihrem ebenso komischen Ehemann.Als Leser ist man erstaunt von dem Durchhaltevermögen, welches der Autor Henry auf den Leib schneidert, nein, man ist gar vollkommen sprachlos von den intellektuellen Ausreden welche Henry von sich gibt um bloß nicht das eigentliche Geheimnis lüften zu müssen. Man fiebert von Henry's Verhaftung bis zur Auflösung am Ende mit und ergötzt sich an jeder weiteren Obszönität. So viel Mitleid man auch mit Henry haben möchte und auch mit Inspektor Flint, so gewaltig ist doch der Humor welchen die schiere Naivität der englischen Polizei hier angedichtet wird.Um dieses sehr persönliche Review in Henry's Stil zu beenden: Wenn man jahrelang Fleisch I unterrichtet hat, dann ist der Gedanke die Leiche seiner Frau zu Pastete zu verarbeiten noch eine der besten Ausreden um die eigene, schamhafte Erklärung für Mrs. Wilt's verschwinden und die Puppe in der Grube zu verschweigen.

Wilt was first published in 1976, so it has a slightly dated feel now. The character of American Sally Pringsheim spouts a ridiculous version of Women’s Lib, which was still big at the time. However, it’s still a great book. It’s pretty rare to find yourself chuckling manically as you read, and the jokes and the absurd scenes keep coming.Simple synopsis: hen-pecked Henry Wilt is a mild-mannered teacher in the Liberal Studies department of his local Tech. He teaches literature to plumbers, butchers, gas-fitters and the like. His wife Eva is a force of nature: house proud, empty headed, given to sudden enthusiasms and desperate to be “with it”. She persuades Wilt to attend a party at the Pringsheim’s, where an unfortunate incident with a sex doll kicks off the action. The Pringsheims convince Eva to come away on a canal boat with them, and when they can’t be found, Wilt is charged with their murder. Henry, suffering sleep deprivation after interminable interviews, concocts an absurd confession that has Inspector Flint wanting to recall all the pork pies recently made.The satire is bitingly funny. The education system, the police, egotistical academics, pompous teachers of flower arranging ... they all come in for shafting at Tom Sharpe’s clever hand. It would be great to see the 1989 movie version starring Gryff Rhys-Jones.