The Midden

by Tom Sharpe

Book Overview

Timothy Brights doesn't exactly live up to his name. Brought up to regard copious flows of money as his birthright, he can't understand why the funds have been cut off, nor why friends he recruited as... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0879519282
• ISBN13: 9780879519285
• Release Date: February 1999
• Publisher: Overlook Press
• Length: 245 Pages
• Weight: 2.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.6" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Not his best,but still hilarious.

Tom Sharpe is an absolute madman. The Midden is another example of that. Timothy Bright is in his late twenties. Finicial advisor with nothing but a bright future. Then it all goes into disarray when his advice just fails. Totally in debt,Timothy hooks up with the mob,robs his Aunt,and has to frame one of the top judges or else the mob turns him into "piggy chops".Timothy sets out on his mission,shacks up with his Uncle for a bit before moving on. Tired of Timothy leaching and stealing his tobacco,the Uncle decides to slip some "toad" into the tobacco which Tim has been smoking. Toad is some kind of hallucinogetic that sends Timothy off on his scooter naked at 140 mph. Timothy finds a houseboat,finds a way in and hops into the bed. Unknowingly the house boat belongs to the Chief Constable and the bed is also occupied by the chiefs wife. The chief beats the heck out of Tim and chucks him in the basement. Trying to figure away to dispose of the intruder without causing any seen of finding a naked man in bed with his wife he decides to dump him off at the hated Middens mansion. It was insane up to this point,then it just gets off the hook. The chief in his worries of getting pinned in dumping the the naked boy,decides he will frame the Middens with acts of child abuse. From here we get bumbling policemen acting like sheep to get closer to the mansion,an old geezer remembering his buffalo hunting days trying to shoot the cops. A church group on a retreat and on and on,and when it all comes down all heck breaks loose.Absolute chaos and hilarity. A must read for Sharpe fans.

Such a plot !

An amazing history, just like Sharpe is able to make them. As a respectable English humour writer, he throws his characters in incredible situations, and mostly what can happen worse... just happens, with an almost mathematical regularity. I just like such "complicated", incredible stories.

The master of farce back at his best (well almost!)

OK so it doesn't quite match the hilarious mayhem of The Throwback or reach the heady comic heights of the Wilt trilogy, but The Midden rattles along at a fair old pace and had me laughing out loud about a dozen times (which is at least 11 more laughs than Grantchester Grind). The Midden's gloriously chaotic denouement in particular is something of a comic masterpiece. This is some of Tom Sharpe's strongest characterisation in a long time and is simply crying out for a sequel. I genuinely want to know what adventures the indomitable Miss Midden gets up to next. Surely the unfortunate Chief Constable will be plotting some horrible revenge? What about the creepy Major? and can poor Timothy Bright escape Piggy Chops for ever? So come on Tom Sharpe, let's have "Middenhall Revisited"!