- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd (6 Sep 2001)
- ISBN-10: 0141007834
- ISBN-13: 978-0141007830
- Product Dimensions: 18 x 11 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,367,170 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
At one time, expatriate Jack Flowers was the youngest drinker at Singapore's Bandung Club. Now, at 53, he is a fixture. But he is beginning to fear death, alone and vulnerable in the alien tropics. And Jack still dreams of success. How can he convert his "perfect dream of magic" into reality, away from the seamy waterfront that has become his home? A funny and sophisticated novel from an acclaimed and popular writer.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
A comical book that will prove especially resonant to those who have lived and worked in the Far East. Jack Flowers' encounters, especially in the 'Bandung' (his local watering hole) and at work, all exist and will be instantly recognisable to those who have, to a degree, trampled over the same ground.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I lived in Singapore when I first read this book, during a stint in the Far East in the late nineties (Hong Kong & S'pore). I found this a great book, another exciting literary thriller from the author of Kowloon Tong, which I read in Hong Kong (read that, too).
The plot involves a luckless expatriate who finds himself almost by accident in a series of increasingly absurd jobs in Singapore almost by accident. It has a Graham Greene-ish flavour with a hint of Gore Vidal's dry sarcasm.
As a Singapore resident, the parts I especially enjoyed about the book were the little touches strewn throughout the book - the depiction of British, Chinese, Americans, etc is brilliant and, amazingly, very relevant (and accurate) to the Singapore of today (I mean the actions and attitudes of the characters, of all nationalities).
Great novel, and great for anyone thinking of going to S'pore, even from the armchair. Combine it with Christopher Lingle's Singapore's Authoritarian Capitalism (which you can't get in Singapore - understand?) and the reader will learn a lot about one of modern Asia's most successful police states.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
9 reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Great Novel of Singapore
5 Aug 2002
Format:Hardcover
Fine, absorbing literary novel follows the exploits of expatriate American stuck in Singapore because he has neither the ability nor the luck to go anywhere else. The novel has a nice atmosphere which reminded me of Graham Greene, Saul Bellow and Gore Vidal, and effectively evoked the sleazy underbelly of Singapore that still exists in that now outwardly squeaky-clean, but sinister city-state. I read this book while living in S'pore and was surprised how many attitudes and actions of the eastern and western characters were reminded me of the Singapore of today. So I felt the book worked in two ways, as a great, entertaining read for anyone interested in just a plain good book, and also as a fine evocation of the eternal aspects of Singapore. Saint Jack was also filmed - the film version is interesting because it captured the old colonial look of S'pore before the current regime of Harry Lee Kuan Yew tore most of it down, replacing it with souless concrete tower blocks. Yet the sleazy atmosphere remains, and comes out at night especially. Theroux's Hong Kong novel, *Kowloon Tong,* captures perfectly that other Far Eastern city state at the time of the 1997 Handover (I was living in HK at the time) and is also recommended, both as a fine read and as a fine description of the place. For a good non-fiction account of Singapore, try Stan Sesser's *The Lands of Charm and Cruelty,* with a great essay on S'pore and "the fear that even the best educated Singaporeans feel towards their government."
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Early Theroux That Holds Up Nicely
13 Jun 2002
Format:Hardcover
Below his somewhat crusty exterior, Jack Flowers cares - sometimes deeply - about the "flotsam and jetsam" he bumps up against - on the streets, in the bar, in his brothel. He really won't show it ... nor, perhaps, will he even admit it to himself ... but he does. And he has "all the time in the world" to do so, in his own backhanded way.
Paul Theroux cut some of his teeth on this early novel, and it holds up remarkably well on second reading. Somewhat acerbic, sometimes touching, "Saint Jack" is a true pleasure.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
expat life
28 Jan 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Sure, lots of authors have done their take on the expat lifestyle, but few have done it better than Mr. Theroux has in St. Jack. This is a smart, deceptively simple take on the 'allure' of life abroad. A great book, even if you've traveled no farther than your mailbox; though, for those who have, the desriptions of people living abroad not so much because they want to---but because they're afraid to go home--- are right on the mark.
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