Tom Sharpe`s novels feature bitter and outrageous satire of the apartheid regime, dumbed-down education, English class snobbery, the literary world, political extremists of all stripes, political correctness, bureaucracy and stupidity in general. Characters may indulge in bizarre sexual practices, and coarser characters use very graphic and/or profane language in dialogue. Sharpe often parodies the language and style of specific authors commonly associated with the social group held up for ridicule. Readers tend to find Sharpe's work either extremely offensive or outrageously funny.