Wilt

This is an absolute classic of the comic novel genre, so popular that it found its way onto the big screen. This dark comedy plays out more like a farce as we follow the misadventures of Henry Wilt, an underappreciated and frustrated teacher. His life spirals out of control due to a series of absurd and ridiculous misunderstandings. The novel’s momentum is driven by these absurdities and gross misinterpretations, all skillfully woven together by the flawed actions of a cast of colorful characters, each caricatured to deliver maximum comedic impact.

Tom Sharpe imbues his characters—whether it's the incompetency of the… show more.

I haven’t read it in yonks, but I recall giving copies of this book to absolutely everyone because it is so hysterically funny. It plays on the anxiety and angst of not becoming tenured, and not publishing enough for your department to hold you in any sort of esteem, and becomes a rollercoaster of crazy incidents that go from bad to worse.

Lord knows why I worked as a sessional for more than fifteen years; after reading this book I ought to have known how tough and zany a world it was.

This book is one of the funniest pieces of fiction I’ve ever read. After finishing this, I went out and bought every one of Sharpe’s books I could find. This book is, for me, the apotheosis of surreal British humor – about 12 hours of Monty Python condensed into a reasonable novel.

However, one doesn’t need to be a fan of Pythonesque humor to appreciate Sharpe’s tale of the beleaguered Henry Wilt. Henry hates his job and can’t stand his overbearing wife. He finally decides to take matters into his own hands, and things go terribly awry.

The way Henry… show more.

I love this book. It shocked me as a teenager. Shocked me. As a teenager! It was suggested to me by my father. I never looked at him the same way after that… The endless humiliations that Wilt endures are outrageous. In every book in the Wilt series, something terrible happens to his penis. In this book it ends up reluctantly attached to a rubber sex doll… I’ll wait here while you reread that line. Wilt is overlooked and abused by everyone, but when he’s arrested for the murder of his wife (who is very much alive) his resilience is… show more.