Ancestral Vices   by Tom Sharpe

March 2005     A book from the Canteen of the Theater.

I took this book, expecting an easy read, with some good bits, and a few laughs. (Specificaly, I was thinking along the lines of All Creatures great and small by James Herriot.) And, that's more or less what I got.

It was competently written, with a dry sense of British humor, that had me laughing out loud at least once. In all though, it wasn't all That great. More... just amusing. The other element that I liked in it, was the sociological angle given of things; Because the main character is a "Demotic Historian" -which I took to mean, from the context, a researcher of sociology, and classes, and... well, socio-economic factors. He's someone against the Capitalists and Industrial Barons. And so, through out the book, there's a flavor of this type, and we see events and people through his viewpoint.

Well, I'm not focussed enough at the moment, but I hope that made sense enough, and got across this other little point that I enjoyed.

All the characters were believable, and realistic. Some of the actions that people had got my... interest, but none of them really made me Consider.

So, it's a decent little book. But not one that... appeals greatly to me.