The Singapore Grip
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Product Description
Book Description
A classic novel by a Booker Prize-winning author.
Product Description
Singapore just before the Japanese invasion in the Second World War: the Blackett family's prosperous world of tennis parties, cocktails and deferential servants seems unchanging. But it is poised on the edge of the abyss: This is the eve of the Fall of Singapore and, as we know, of much else besides. Not only the Blacketts, their friends and enemies, but many individuals are caught up in the events. Singapore at this historical watershed has never been so faithfully and passionately recreated.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Another wonderful book by Farrell. This time we are Singapore upon whose shores the Second World War is about to reach. We see the usual collection of eccentric colonials and witness their social dealings. Whilst the rest of the Empire battled the Germans and Japanese, in Singapore fortunes are to be made and daughters to be married off. Farrell has created a wonderful host of characters who often discuss the weightiest of matters in the most perilous situations. Thus not only are we treated to reading about them putting out incendiary bombs but we have them discussing the betterment of man whilst they do it. As with Farrell's other novels the book is wonderfully funny, this one is however tinged with sadness. The injustice of Empire is more apparent and the motives of the people whose stories we witness are much crasser than in his other books. This, as with all of Farrell's books is a must read.
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I don't recognise the book that Michael Kalk describes. Every one of Farrell's characters comes to life on the page. And though the book is long, it's never boring - it immerses you in colonial Singapore on the cusp of the Japanese invasion. As usual with Farrell, the narrative is threaded through with dark humour - right down to the title. When you find out what 'Singapore grip' means, you'll think twice about asking for it by name at your local bookshop.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When the Japanese invaded China in 1937 and French Indo-China in 1941, the handwriting was on the wall for the colony of Singapore, one of Great Britain's most important military and economic centers. Hubris, and the sense that their military power was vastly superior to any other in the world, however, led to Britain's lack of military preparedness and the astonishingly quick takeover of Malaya and Singapore by the Japanese in 1942, handing the British what Winston Churchill called "the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history." Author J. G. Farrell recreates these traumatic days in Singapore as the final novel in his "Empire Trilogy," which, like Troubles and The Siege of Krishnapur, combines Farrell's cynicism, black humor, and sense of absurdity with his uncompromising honesty about colonialism--Britain's greed, its colonial "mission," and its cruelty toward its "subjects."
The venerable Singapore merchant firm of Blackett and Webb and its principals come vibrantly alive here as they deal with continuing strikes, unrest in rural areas, challenges to the government by the communists, and an influx of immigrants from other countries. The outbreak of war in Europe has made the demand for Blackett and Webb's rubber supplies a high priority for Britain's military cars and planes, and Blackett and Webb are poised to capitalize by manipulating prices, withholding product, and evading the law. Associating with generals, the leaders of society, and local governors, the company's representatives are busy planning an elaborate jubilee celebration. Even as the Japanese are attacking from the north, Walter Blackett continues with the planned celebration.
Farrell has obviously spent a great deal of time researching not only the actions of the military and diplomatic corps from several countries, but also determining the personalities of the British characters (real) who act within the novel. Air Chief-Marshall Sir Robert Brooke-Popham and Lt. Gen. Arthur Percival have innumerable scenes which establish their attitudes and explain their actions--and inactions. In a surprise, Farrell also includes scenes in which the Japanese reveal their own points of view as officers Kikuchi, Matsushida, and his assistant Nakamura, prepare for the battle for Singapore.
Farrell handles innumerable plot lines (and battle lines) with assurance and historical accuracy, illustrating the reality of history within the everyday lives of the merchant princes of Singapore. As the Japanese come closer to attacking Singapore, the reader is stunned by some of the reactions of the British community, concerned primarily that "the dignity of the British Government is at stake," not with the real lives that are threatened. As Singapore falls, the horrors are dramatic, revealing the inner resources--or lack thereof--of all the main characters, and as these escape--or fail to escape--Farrell has educated his readers so well that it is difficult to decide whether to be glad or sad about the fates of the characters we have followed for five hundred pages. Ultimately, Farrell's own opinions in favor of a forward-thinking world view shine through brightly, in stark contrast to those of his main characters. Mary Whipple
Troubles: (New York Review Books Classics)
The Siege of Krishnapur (New York Review Books Classics)
The venerable Singapore merchant firm of Blackett and Webb and its principals come vibrantly alive here as they deal with continuing strikes, unrest in rural areas, challenges to the government by the communists, and an influx of immigrants from other countries. The outbreak of war in Europe has made the demand for Blackett and Webb's rubber supplies a high priority for Britain's military cars and planes, and Blackett and Webb are poised to capitalize by manipulating prices, withholding product, and evading the law. Associating with generals, the leaders of society, and local governors, the company's representatives are busy planning an elaborate jubilee celebration. Even as the Japanese are attacking from the north, Walter Blackett continues with the planned celebration.
Farrell has obviously spent a great deal of time researching not only the actions of the military and diplomatic corps from several countries, but also determining the personalities of the British characters (real) who act within the novel. Air Chief-Marshall Sir Robert Brooke-Popham and Lt. Gen. Arthur Percival have innumerable scenes which establish their attitudes and explain their actions--and inactions. In a surprise, Farrell also includes scenes in which the Japanese reveal their own points of view as officers Kikuchi, Matsushida, and his assistant Nakamura, prepare for the battle for Singapore.
Farrell handles innumerable plot lines (and battle lines) with assurance and historical accuracy, illustrating the reality of history within the everyday lives of the merchant princes of Singapore. As the Japanese come closer to attacking Singapore, the reader is stunned by some of the reactions of the British community, concerned primarily that "the dignity of the British Government is at stake," not with the real lives that are threatened. As Singapore falls, the horrors are dramatic, revealing the inner resources--or lack thereof--of all the main characters, and as these escape--or fail to escape--Farrell has educated his readers so well that it is difficult to decide whether to be glad or sad about the fates of the characters we have followed for five hundred pages. Ultimately, Farrell's own opinions in favor of a forward-thinking world view shine through brightly, in stark contrast to those of his main characters. Mary Whipple
Troubles: (New York Review Books Classics)
The Siege of Krishnapur (New York Review Books Classics)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Another great novel
Superb evocation of a bygone age, with the usual dotty characters playing out their individual problems against a world falling apart. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr R J Neilson
An excellent read
An engrossing book, if a little long-winded from time to time. This was probably due to the author's enthusiasm, no to be doubted, having got the better of him. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Bookish
A seriously comic tragedy--the 1942 fall of Singapore
A really fine novel by the superb British writer, J.G. Farrell. I got this title because of the overwhelmingly favorable Amazon reviews (hats off to those who praised the book in... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Blue in Washington
Singapore kip zzzzz
Story of rich rubber baron family, sub plots of arranged marriages to ensure company's survival, young man stepping out in the world, price of rubber, Japanese invasion. Read more
Published 12 months ago by T.
A remarkable and beautiful work
This is a substantial and remarkable book in which Farrell documents the colonial years just before, and during the Japanese invasion of Singapore. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Tony Buckley
Gripped but only partially
Up to the actual Japanese advance on Singapore, I found this a colonial mish-mash - the pre-WW2 characters tackled in the same old rather condescending way. Read more
Published on 6 April 2010 by Singapore Relic
Too much detail
I "discovered" JG Farrell when I picked up a second hand copy of "The siege of Krishnapur" which I enjoyed. Read more
Published on 26 Dec 2009 by H. Rogers
A marvelous achievement
'The Singapore Grip' is the third and last novel in what is commonly referred to as Farrell's Empire trilogy. Read more
Published on 13 April 2009 by Didier
An End of Empire Epic
This was much more of an epic than I expected. Nearest comparison I can think of is Olivia Manning's "Fortunes Of War" (Balkan and Levant trilogies), with a dash of Paul Scott (Raj... Read more
Published on 23 Aug 2008 by M. J. Mooney
The city comes to life, the characters don't
If this is a great book, the great parts come after the author bored me into putting it down. He writes very well, and creates a nice sense of place, but the characters are too... Read more
Published on 18 May 2005 by Michael Kalk
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