Hi, I read this book while I was in my sickbed and it really made me feel a lot better. The story was very gripping, but I got confused at the beginning about who the main character was, Ashley or Ned, until it became clear that it was Ned. I agree with the other reviewer Bettina that the book would make a great movie. I've read another Stephen Fry book, the Liar, and this was much better. I think the ending was a bit weak, which was something I noticed about the Liar too. Anyway, I would definitely recommend it!

Why this book is not available as normal quick-to-ship-paperback by AMAZON is beyond me (it doesn't even pop up while searching for Stephen Fry stuff), but anyway: this is a highly suspenseful novel which is perfect for turning into a movie. Old Babe could be played by Richard Harris- is he still alive?- and Ned perhaps by Linus Roache! I wish I were a screenwriter for this one. Well, come on, buy the bloody book already (if you can stand seeing a nice young lad ending up like Jack Nicolson in 'One flew over the cookoo's nest' for a while)!

The Stars' Tennis Balls is an amazing read. Ceaselessly entertaining, this somewhat twisted modern retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo, as seen through the deliciously clever mind of Stephen Fry, is a delightful adventure. Filled with fresh views of many things in our world, great philosophy and wonderful characterizations, this book will not fail to please anyone who is looking for the perfect summer novel. Thank you so much Mr. Fry!

Much has been made of the Harry Potter series. Here in the UK the hype has been almost at fever-pitch with the publication of the latest in the series. With all the fuss, and my nephew an enthusiastic reader of these books I thought I'd find out for myself whether the accolade was appropriate.

Adults, friends of mine amongst them, have read the book for themsleves (as opposed to reading it aloud to their offspring) and while I decided I wouldn't be seen reading it on a train, I would do so in the evenings.

It's very readable. Rowling manages the difficult balance between readability pitched at a young age and a fairly complex plot. My own love of literature was nurtured on Enid Blyton's Famous Five books, the style and grammatical content of which are execrable. I found this to my cost when trying to read them aloud to my children many years ago and began to realize why many libraries in the UK had banned her from their lists. Rowling's construction, on the other hand, is excellent and reads well aloud. I understand that her later novels in the series are even better, interweaving more complexity for 'older' appeal into the work. This may well encourage me to borrow the next novel from my long-suffering nephew.

Rowling also doesn't fall into the trap of dishing up cheesy humour for the youngsters but opts rather more for a nascent dry humour which is more stylish and may well prepare youngsters for a more advanced appreciation of humorous literature.

The characters are reasonably three-dimensional for a children's novel, and the story-line holds up well for the most part. Her inventiveness in the paraphernalia of the magic world, and in particular the game of Quidditch is particularly to be commended. There is even a moral message in this novel, one of not judging too hastily who is one's friend and who is one's enemy, an excellent topic for human cubs developing interpersonal skills without guidance.

The content is, however, very British (I almost said English but she's Welsh) and I can see where some references might need explanation to American readers, but this will not detract from the novel's enjoyability.

In summary, then, an excellent read for 9 to 13 year-olds, an amusing read for adults and pleasantly engaging to read aloud to young family members.

A hit.

This is the best book of the Harry Potter series so far! When Hagrid tells Harry that he is a wizard it's just so exiting for him and you don't know what is going to happen. I think it would be so good to be told you're a wizard (or a witch) and be famous too. J.K. Rowling is a really fantastic author! She makes up the most interesting names for the people and places, like platform nine and three quarters. My favourite character is Ron Weasley. Also I like his pet rat Scabbers! I'd like to taste the lollies and food in the wizard and witch world and especially butterbeer. I think it was interesting how you didn't know what was going to happen next. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone is truly the best book in the series so far, in my opinion! I would recommend it to anyone from the age of six to sixty and over! J.K. Rowling is the best author to come up with a book that would be loved so much all around the world. Keep up the good work and keep writing those Harry Potter books, J.K. Rowling!

Yes, it is a book of highest print quality (printed in Italy), with some wonderful photos, and very true to the movie's original dialogue(I should know, I have seen it four times...). But, it is just that....Neither it is very insighful nor is it the best example of Mr.Fry literary wit. Overall, it is a fine gift for someone, who loves Jude Law or the movie itself VERY VERY MUCH... As for the man in question himself, i.e. Oscar Wilde, this book is nothing special, because so was the movie.

If you loved the glorious film that is Wilde, this is the perfect companion, reproducing the entire script, showing behind-the-scenes photos, and featuring an interesting introduction by the great actor Stephen Fry. Large photos from the movie are reproduced in full color, showing the intricately detailed attention to historical authenticity. Even if you didn't like the movie, buy it for the photos of Jude Law as "Bosie." He is absolutely beautiful!

Stephen Fry's first book, THE LIAR, was a tour-de-force, meaning, mostly, that you really had to work to figure out what the hell was actually happening. With THE HIPPOPOTAMUS, he eschews the trickery and concentrates on terrific characters and plotting. I think he must have taken a great deal of satisfaction in building his book around a Very Big Surprise midway through-- even though you *know* a V.B.S. is coming, and even though you can probably guess the general shape of the V.B.S., I don't think *anybody* reading this book for the first time can fail to be shocked/horrified/amused/delighted/amazed when he/she finds out what that V.B.S. actually *is*. Up to that point, the book sort of meanders pleasantly, but from then on, it hits high speed, bouncing between 1st and 3rd person narrators, the occasional RASHOMON-ing of scenes through different viewpoints, and a now-you-see-it, now-you-don't ending that ranks with the best mystery writers-- pretty good for a book that isn't a mystery! For those who don't know, Fry is a wildly talented comic actor (JEEVES & WOOSTER, BLACK ADDER); he's one of those annoying Englishmen who apparently does *everything* well. If he keeps turning out novels like this one, I'm prepared to forgive him

'Hippopotamus' is Stephen Fry's second (and best) novel. As usual, Fry's acerbic wit and Oscar Wilde / Noel Coward pomposity come racing to the fore. Hippopotamus is one of those rare books that both amuse AND make you admire the writer for his very considerable abilities. Stephen Fry is a supreme raconteur, author, actor and television personality, and he is not shy in using his whole arsenal of skills to keep you reading.

Ted Wallace, the main character, is a sixty-six year old 'unregenerate snob' with a penchant for 'a drop of the hard stuff'. Maybe this is how the author sees himself in years to come. If so, Stephen Fry will be just as amusing in his latter years as he has been to date.

You should buy this book at the first opportunity. You will not regret it.

THE HIPPOPOTAMUS is the second and best of Stephen Fry's three novels. If you have read and enjoyed THE LIAR or MAKING HISTORY you will adore this book. If you enjoyed THE LIAR but were frustrated by it's poorly contrived ending you just may want to make love to THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. Fry's wit is razor sharp yet hearty, his humor will slap you in the face and then give you a hug. It is rare these days to stop reading just because you have to laugh so hard, then sit quietly for a moment pondering the art, craft or trick of genius that made you laugh so hard before laughing again. Fry is an artist, a craftsman, and a supremely clever rhetorician with quite a few tricks up his sleeve.

Fry's protagonist here is much the different fellow from the twentyish Adrian Healey of THE LIAR. Ted Wallace is sixty-six years old, "an unregenerate snob," and a once notable and occasionally anthologized minor poet, whose physical form in motion "resembles in sight and sound nothing so much as a bin-liner full of yoghurt." His mental form has not been all it's cracked up to be either, the story opens with his dismissal with cause from his theatre reviewing job: he was shouting out his criticisms while the performance was still in progress. Just when it looks like malt whiskey-induced cirrhosis can't be far down the road, his long-lost goddaughter offers him a chance at redemption. A chance he'd never take were it not for the hefty check she gives him to perform the task from which the rest of the book derives it suspense--visiting the summer house of his other godchild, younger son of an incredibly rich and powerful former British army reserve buddy, and reporting back on the mystical goings on there. And what twisted fun we have accompanying him on this summer in the high country!

As a story, THE HIPPOPOTAMUS demonstrates a handsome integration of the accidental and the intentional. It is happily free from contrivance, and is made all the more hilarious and alive by its being written, for the most part, in letter form. Fry also finds a few well-placed moments to proclaim his own theory of art: "It is the only thing that not only cannot be disproved, but can actually and tangibly and incontrovertibly proved." Damn the psychotherapists, priests and druids all to Vienna, Hell, and Avalon--give a man Shakespeare and he will be saved!

Fry's style is richly allusive and admirably erudite. It also savagely satirizes its own pretentiousness. Fry has it both ways and knows it--not a bad trick. THE HIPPOPOTAMUS is both bestial fun and glorious art. If you can handle both, this book is simply not to be missed.

Whether or not one thinks BLACK DOG is the most amazing book ever written or a run-of-the-mill mystery will undoubtedly be tied to one's perspective and prior reading experience. I have read mostly British mysteries (ALL of Sayers, Christie, James, Dexter, Ellis, Allingham, Walters, Hall, Hill, Robinson, etc.) as well as a few American writers (Cornwall, Evanovich). For me, although BLACK DOG is well written, it is a run-of-the-mill British mystery -- great for grabbing in an airport book store to while away the hours standing in the security lines or seated on airplanes. I would not place Booth in the top tier of recently "arrived" British mystery writers (i.e. Minette Walters) as some have. However, like Jill McGowan he shows promise of surviving the long haul without becoming a super star.

Booth's character development is comparable to Reginald Hill's (medium), although Ben Cooper is more akin to Peter Pasco than Dalziel. Ben Cooper has a future, but I don't find Diane Fry appealing. I think Booth would have done better to spend more time in Cooper's head and less in Fry's. Rare is the writer who can inspire a protagonist of the opposite sex. P.D. James succeeded with Adam Dalglish, but Dalglish is older like James, and older men and women tend to think more alike than not. Life simply wears one down around the edges and narrows the differences.

Booth's forensics events are familiar, particularly if you are a fan of Patricia Cornwell, who did a masterful job of explaining the progression of the decomposition of the human body in BODY FARM. I suppose every mystery/crime writer has to resort to forensics these days, but it gets tiresome to read about flies and maggots over and over. Booth is not gratuitous, however, and his descriptions of the material events surrounding the death of Laura Vernon are necessary to futher his storyline.

Anglophiles love the perspective that only Brits can share about their lives. BLACK DOG takes place in what appears to be an English village in or near Derbyshire in Central England. Most Americans who travel to England don't see the life Booth describes--old established connections of the family members and friends; the varous types of housing, streets, and pathways; and other aspects of daily living such as the importance of dogs, manure, and pub life. The ancectdotal bits are wonderful. I never understood the significance of the Black Dog before I read Booth's book, and now, maybe I do.

From the moment Detective Constable Ben Cooper finds young Laura Vernon's lifeless body his life goes steadily downhill. It doesn't help matters that the new woman on the force is somehow stepping in to fill his shoes and taking over the case. Diane Fry is ambitious, tough and just recovery from her own tragic set of circumstances. A woman alone, and unable to understand the needs of family and friendships as they apply to the small town she's now living in. But Diane learns that she can't go this one alone. As an outsider, she can't discount Ben Coopers expertise in the area and the people. This is Ben's hometown, the people are his people, and those of his father before him. Regardless of the pressure this puts on Ben, there's no escaping this fact. Village suspicions, family secrets, and loyalty forged in the fires of lifelong friendships blend together in a masters stroke in this wonderful mystery that spans such a range of human emotions as to leave you gasping as you learn who really killed Laura Vernon and why. The answers will surprise you as will the ending to this incredible mystery.

Stephen Booth is a new British author and "Black Dog" is his first novel. It is set in England, in the Peak District, an area known for hiking and overrun by tourists in the summer.

Laura Vernon, aged 15, of Moorhay Village disappears and foul play is suspected. The police launch a search, but it is a villager who turns up the first real evidence. Laura Vernon's family had only recently moved to the area and does not blend in well with their neighbors. And there seems to be something else no one is willing to talk about.

DCs Diane Fry and Ben Cooper are part of the investigating police force. Diane had only recently transferred to the district, Ben is the local boy, "Sergeant Cooper's lad", trying to live up to the shining example his father set. Both are competing for a promotion and there is more to both of them than meets the eye. The interaction between these two is what makes up most of this book's charm. Stephen Booth does a very good job here to portray two very different characters and to show how deceiving appearances can be.

This is not your usual police procedural. There is a lot more to the book than just an investigation and a criminal. The solution to the mystery is almost secondary and, to be honest, feels a bit rushed. It is the two main characters that drive the book. You get to know them very well and I would love to read more about them.

I highly recommend this book. Fans of psychological mysteries like Minette Walters' will not be disappointed.

_The Picture of Dorian Gray_, a story of morals, psychology and poetic justice, has furnished Oscar Wilde with the status of a great writer. It takes place in 19th-century England, and tells of a man in the bloom of his youth who will remain forever young.

Basil Hallward is a merely average painter until he meets Dorian Gray and becomes his friend. But Dorian, who is blessed with an angelic beauty, inspires Hallward to create his ultimate masterpiece. Awed by the perfection of this rendering, he utters the wish to be able to retain the good looks of his youth while the picture were the one to deteriorate with age. But when Dorian discovers the painting cruelly altered and realizes that his wish has been fulfilled, he ponders changing his hedonistic approach.

_Dorian Gray_'s sharp social criticism has provoked audible controversy and protest upon the book's 1890 publication, and only years later was it to rise to classic status. Reminiscent of a Greek tragedy, it is popularly interpreted as an analogy to Wilde's own tragic life. Despite this, the book is laced with the right amounts of the author's perpetual jaunty wit.

The Picture of Dorian Gray, a story of morals, psychology and poetic justice, has furnished Oscar Wilde with the status of a classical writer. It takes place in 19th-century England, and tells of a man in the bloom of his youth who will remain forever young.

Basil Hallward is a merely average painter until he meets Dorian Gray and becomes his friend. But Dorian, who is blessed with an angelic beauty, inspires Hallward to create his ultimate masterpiece. Awed by the perfection of this rendering, he utters the wish to be able to retain the good looks of his youth while the picture were the one to deteriorate with age. But when Dorian discovers the painting cruelly altered and realizes that his wish has been fulfilled, he ponders changing his hedonistic approach.

Dorian Gray's sharp social criticism has provoked audible controversy and protest upon the book's 1890 publication, and only years later was it to rise to classical status. Written in the style of a Greek tragedy, it is popularly interpreted as an analogy to Wilde's own tragic life. Despite this, the book is laced with the right amounts of the author's perpetual jaunty wit.

Oscar Wilde is a man who is obsessed by appearances. In this particular novel, he follows from the moment Dorian Gray sells his soul to the devil named beauty and youth, pleasure and enjoyment, to his death and he describes how someone who looks perfect, perfectly young, intelligent, brilliant, beautiful, moral and healthy is in fact nothing but a monster decaying in all possible immoral actions, deeds and ways just under the surface. It is a very strong criticism of victorian society that considers appearances as more important than real ethics and morality. He exposes the hypocrisy of such a society where a whole class of people are nothing but perambulating pictures of perfection hiding the mire and mud of crime and evil. We can also feel another dilemma in this book. Oscar Wilde's own dilemma who has to keep up appearances, the appearances of a well behaved, well educated and perfectly integrated man in this aristocratic society of his, and who yet lives a passion and a whole basket of desires and impulses that are absolutely rejected as crimes by victorian society. We know he will not be able to hide this deeper nature forever. But the book shows that no one can evade one's being exposed and rejected, condemned and sentenced to some punishment forever. There always comes a moment when one will be exposed and rejected. This shows how deeply Oscar Wilde must have suffered in his life. The painting is nothing but a mirror of the deeper self of Dorian Gray, but a mirror who will become one day his accuser.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Perpignan.

Okay...so I first encountered Stephen Fry's most recent undertaking while seated in the London Underground observing Londoner's NOT talking to one another. The gentleman across from me was reading _Making_History_ before falling asleep. As a Yank, English literature always had the same effect on me. But nevertheless, I wanted to read a novel written by an actor in one of my favorite television shows - Black Adder (Fry is General Melcher in B.A. goes forth). The novel is a page turner. What could easily turn out as a cheesy sci-fi theme - going back into history and altering the future, er, the present - is handled with great wit and sensitivity to detail. Fry demonstrates awareness of contemporary culture through citations from music, movies, novels, etc. Throughout the narrative, the protagonist, a doctoral candidate at Cambridge University comments deliciously on much of our modern foibles and idiosyncracies. Uniquely, Fry includes chapters written in the style of a television or movie screenplay. The device is entertaining and adumbrates Fry's point made early on in the book that movies are the truest contemporary art form. Nice bit of irony actually as it appears wedged into the slightly maligned form of narrative fiction. There are enough suprises to keep the reader on the edge of the proverbial seat. I am thankful to that sleepy Brit who rested the book on his lap in the London Underground while I anxiously awaited making a trip to Dillons.

Stephen Fry departs from his usual barrels of laughs to take on the more thought-provoking question of whether it's possible to change history. Michael Young, a fledgling Cambridge historian on the verge of submitting a doctoral thesis on the early life of Adolph Hitler, becomes embroiled (via a misplaced parcel and a chance meeting) in a scheme to change history as we know it. Unfortunately, Young and his mentor quickly discover that history is not quite as staightforward as it might appear.

Fry neatly sidesteps the technical stuff and constructs a convincing alternative present in which, despite his hero's best intentions, things have not entirely gone as planned. In the process he leads us to question the very factors at work in the historical process. Perservering through the somewhat confusing early chapters brings the reader rich rewards in the shape of a thought-provoking, and ultimately unsettling, tale. Fry reveals that in a world contingent on unforeseen (and unforeseeable) events, there are no easy solutions. The moral is an old one, but nonetheless valid: be careful what you wish for - it might just come true

Whenever the words "time machine" end up in a book there's always this little voice in my head screaming "DANGER! Lay down the book and step away from it" but in this case Stephen Fry seems to get away with it. Not so much because of the plot, which is rather thin and contains too many 'mistakes', but because of his amazing style of writing (quick, funny, detailed).

In the book Michael Young, a history student specialised on Hitler's youth, and scientist Leo Zuckermann, highly interested in WW II since his father was a Nazi 'doctor', decide to create a time machine (how else can you survive boring sunday afternoons?) so they can stop Hitler from being born. Not a bad start for a book and a pretty interesting idea to work with (how would you stop Hitler from being born, Kennedy from being shot, planes from crashing into trade towers and what would happen if you would?). They succeed but since history has been changed their own lives change too and they both end up in Princeton, USA where Michael knows about his 'former' life (the first chapters of the second part with Michael walking around without having the faintest idea what's going on are dead funny) but Leo doesn't (god knows why).

Even worst Hitler has been replaced by another dictator, Rudolf Gloder, who succeeds where Hitler has failed and conquered Europe and pretty much killed all Jews. Therefore Michael, Steve, a friend of the American Michael, and Leo create ANOTHER time machine to redo what they've done and they all end up back in Cambridge (where both Michael and Steve CAN remember what happened and Leo can't, again god knows why).

The mistakes made, besides the fact that the effect on memory seems to change per person there's also the time schedule when they return in Cambridge (Michael and Leo meet some time before Michaels girlfriend leaves for Princeton herself, when they all return Michael and Leo HAVEN`T met but his girlfriend is already living in the USA), are irritating but don't spoil the entire book. The American Michael, and therefore the English Michael, being gay seems a bit odd and Fry doesn't give any extra info on that part. But besides all that this book is a very good read!

Hearing about Douglas Adams' untimely death was certainly a shock to all of his fans, myself included. I had been a big follower of his HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE series, I had greatly enjoyed his DOCTOR WHO scripts, and his DIRK GENTLY novels simply get better and better on every read-through. The thought of a world with nothing more forthcoming from Douglas Adams is simply not a happy one. However, upon hearing about the release of what existed of his final novel, I'll admit that I was slightly skeptical. From all reports, Adams was quite a perfectionist, and it seemed clear that whatever was pieced together from his hard-drive would be nothing like what he would have eventually completed. But now, having read the book, I'm glad that I did so, despite its fragmented style and incomplete status. It's given us a last look, and for that alone we should be grateful.

The book with the words "The Salmon Of Doubt" on the cover is actually a hodgepodge of various articles, essays, introductions, speeches, odd thoughts and other writings of which the incomplete novel, THE SALMON OF DOUBT, is only a small part. The non-fiction portion (which accounts for most of the pages) reveals a very witty and intelligent author, who was quite outspoken about those topics close to his heart, and who put those views forward in a thought-provoking and amusing way. The editor has gamely attempted to organize this collection into groups of similar topics, but to be honest it doesn't feel organized at all. This is basically just a random compilation of different writings all thrown together into a single volume. Douglas Adams had far-ranging tastes and interests, and while you will see some recurring topics (his love of the Beatles is omnipresent), you won't find any real sense of coherence. But you will find a lot of intelligently argued and hilarious essays on subjects as diverse as technology, the environment, P. G. Wodehouse, atheism, and other people's dogs.

Reviewing what exists of THE SALMON OF DOUBT is a very difficult task. There are a lot of plot points and threads that obviously aren't wrapped up or even properly started. What is here is great, but would that level of quality be maintained? Would the plot be continued in a satisfying manner, or would all the clever hints that were dropped be discarded? It's impossible to determine how the rest of the story would have gone. The editors give us as much information as they could, but even Douglas Adams apparently hadn't decided whether it would continue to be a Dirk Gently book, or if he would switch it over to his Hitchhikers universe. The only real way I have of reviewing the tiny (80 pages) block of THE SALMON OF DOUBT is to say that I did enjoy reading it, I'm heartbroken that there isn't any more of it, and I'll certainly reread this in the future. If only it wasn't so short.

If you had any misgivings about reading an incomplete work, then I can only try to persuade you to go ahead and devour this anyway. A tantalizing fraction of a Douglas Adams book is still better than no Douglas Adams book at all. The non-fiction writings are provocative and the Hitchhiker humor is displayed on every page. Take a final stroll through the last words of Douglas Adams; you'll be very sorry that the ride is over, but you'll be glad that you got on board.

So long, Doug, and thanks for all the wit.

The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time, edited by Peter Guzzardi, consists of a collection of material found on Adams's hard-drive after his untimely death in 2001, together with various earlier essays, stories, interviews, etc. It forms a tribute to the creative genius of Douglas Adams (and a last chance to squeeze some money out of the Hitchhiker franchise).
The book begins with a prologue, originally written by Nicholas Wroe for The Guardian, and an introduction by Christopher Cerf. After that, the collected material by Douglas is arranged into three parts, entitled, appropriately enough, "Life," "The Universe," "And Everything." The third part contains, among other things, some unfinished chapters from the next book that Adams had been working on before he died. That book was to have been entitled The Salmon of Doubt. These chapters have been edited together from several different versions that Adams had left behind, and forms only a short beginning, frustratingly, of the whole story, ending as it does abruptly in the middle. As the result stands, it is a story about Dirk Gently, but Adams had earlier confessed himself stuck, having found that the ideas he had been working on were more suitable for a Hitchhiker story, than for a Dirk Gently story. His plan was accordingly to write the sixth Hitchhiker book, and incorporate the best ideas from what he had already written on the Salmon of Doubt. Sadly, he never got a chance to do this.
Among the other material in the book, there are two pieces of writing that were of special interest to me. The first one is a reprint of an interview that Adams gave for American Atheist, and the other is a printed version of an extemporaneous speech that Adams delivered at Digital Biota 2, Cambridge, in which he gave his view on the origin of the concept of God.
The material collected in this book shows Adams at his funniest best. The chapters of The Salmon of Doubt that he had finished gives as a glimpse of what would have been another triumph of comedic writing for Adams, had he only been given a chance to finish it. The book ends with an epilogue written by Adams's close friend, Richard Dawkins.

When I read that the late and great Douglas Adams had passed away on May 25th, I felt as if a close friend had died. There would be no more adventures of Dirk Gently, trying to solve mysteries in his own, weird way, or of Arthur Dent, venturing through the space, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in hand. I went into a bit of a depressed slump for a while.

But then, miraculously, when one day I was walking through Chapters, trying to put up a huge "DNA Memorial" in front of the section of the store that carried his books, I saw 'The Salmon of Doubt'. And I thought "I am dreaming"... so I pinched myself, and realized that I wasn't. HERE IT WAS - DOUGLAS ADAMS' LAST BOOK! I screamed. People stared. I fainted. Enough said about that.

I bought the book. I read the book. I laughed. I cried. I remembered. And you should, too. This collection of Douglas Adams' writings, plus the first few chapters of Douglas Adams last unfinished project, 'The Salmon of Doubt' (a new Dirk Gently novel) is an item for anyone who even knew who Douglas Adams was. And even those who don't.

42.

This is a collection of essays which compare [homosexuals] in the US with those in Latin America. It looks at male homosexuality from a historical, pre-colombian, and tribal perspective as well. Murray is an erudite anthropologist and therefore does not fall into the loopholes in scholarship that many white men who "study" homosexuality in Latin America have. The author is a bit of an essentialist and that may rub constructionists the wrong way. Of his books on international male homosexuality, this is the best one buy far. I think every [homosexual] Latino who wants to know their own [homosexual] Latino history should own a copy.

There are some excellent books on male homosexuality in particular sites (Hector Carrillo and Joseph Carrier on Guadalajara, Mexico; Richard Parker on (Rio) Brazil; Manuel Fernandez on (San Pedro, Honduras)) but this collection ranges much more widely, including material on indigenous cultures as well as the dominant machista one that varies only slightly from Texas to Tierra del Fuego, and incipient "modern gay" homosexuality.

About half the chapters are by Stephen Murray, who has considered reports from many societies and done fieldwork in Mexico, Guatemala, and Peru. He is very critical of the romantic view of "tolerance" ("anything goes"/ "there's no sin south of the border") but includes chapters by the two main purveyors of that view (Paul Kutsche and Richard Parker). The book contains a multiplicity of scholarly views and data ranging from the usual literary texts to ethnography and survey research on sexual behavior of males who have sex with males in Latin America.

I hadn't read a Tom Sharpe book in maybe ten years, but what I remember were absurd but still gruesomely funny, bawdy adventures in the world of slapstick (the episode in The Throwback with the prophylactic, the oven cleaner and the cheese grater remains one of the funniest things I've ever read).

Well, I stumbled upon Vintage Stuff in an charity shop the other day and thought I'd give it a go for old times' sake.

I wish I hadn't bothered. Tom Sharpe's literary star has waned of late (having reached its zenith in the early Eighties), and reading this book it isn't hard to see why.

The thing about slapstick - and Sharpe should know this, as he's a (past) master at it - is to exaggerate and caricature; extrapolate and inflate, but never so as to totally break the bounds of credibility. There need to be scenes and situations which any of us might find ourselves in, and only the unusual confluence of all of them at once suggests this could never really happen in real life.

In Vintage Stuff, this simply isn't the case. Even the premise is ridiculous, and the decisions, behaviour and reactions of all the characters are plainly silly, without ever hinting at being funny. Sharpe's writing style, usually so light, is leaden; the dialogue isn't credible and the denouement is both unpleasant and anticlimactic. You may spy also a rather spiteful, laboured, resentment of the public school system.

This has all the hallmarks of an empty barrel being scraped. Avoid.

This book was almost as good as Wilt, Blott and The Great Pursuit. It was a bit slow in the beginning and the ending was a bit premature. Otherwise it was very funny. Definitely recommended.

I have read all of Tom Sharpe's books and Vintage Stuff is one of his best. The comic style in which he normally handles language, plot and characters is probably at its best in this book. The book lends heavily on the English public school system (as do some of his other books). The plot concerns the adventures of a school master and one of his students as they are induced on a crazy journey through England and France - all due to the schemes of another school master seeking revenge. Like all Sharpe's books, the journey is the reward as most endings tend to be a little anti-climactic. This is mainly due to the fast pace of the work, both in plot and language. If you like a well-written comic adventure, you can't go wrong with this book.