This article appeared in The Times on 8 April 2003.
DO NOT bother buying Tom Sharpe’s latest book about Wilt, his best-known character: The veteran South African author says that all two million words are “lousy”.
Sharpe, 74, asked during a talk in Cheltenham if he had always intended to keep writing into old age, replied: “No, and I wish to God I had not! I am on the fourth Wilt and it’s lousy.” He added: “If something doesn’t make me laugh it’s not going to make anyone else laugh either.”
Sharpe has delighted millions of readers since his debut with Riotous Assembly in 1971, following it with Indecent Exposure and Porterhouse Blue, which was filmed with David Jason. Asked why keeps on writing if his heart is not in it, Sharpe said: “I got a vast contract.”
The prospects of Wilt appearing again now look uncertain, which is just as well if the author’s self-criticism is even half accurate.