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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13822 in Books
• Published on: 1996-07-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 602 pages

About the Author
J.G. Farrell was born in Liverpool in 1935 and spent a good deal of his life abroad, including periods in France and Ireland, where he spent much of his childhood, and a prolonged visit to the Far East to research the background for this novel. Among his novels, TROUBLES won the Faber Memorial Prize in 1970 and THE SIEGE OF KRISHNAPUR won the Booker Prize in 1973. He died in 1979.

Customer Reviews

A Masterpiece
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.

Engaging finale to Farell's Empire Trilogy
In the final part of this trilogy charting the decline of the British Empire, Major Brendan Archer features as usual, though this time in more of a supporting role. The action takes place in Singapore on the eve of the Japanese invasion during WW2. It focuses on the life of a wealthy colonial family and provides massive and intelligent insight into one of the pillars of the Asian part of the Empire: the rubber industry. Even if you are not familiar with British imperial history, this novel is likely to fill you in on more than the key details but neatly avoids sounding like a textbook - always a sign of a skilled author of historical 'fiction'. The Japanese invasion changed Singapore forever, and it's difficult for many to recall what the settlement founded by Sir Stamford Raffles in the nineteenth century on the site of a small fishing village was once like. The Singapore Swing recaptures colonial Singapore in its decadent heydays and transports the reader into the world of the haves, and the have nots. The flaws and inequalities of empire are more fully exposed this time round - an account of a hospital for the poor being a memorable chapter - and there is an interesting psychological portrait of General Percival, the commander of British forces defending Singapore who surrendered to the Japanese. The author tries to explain Percival's fateful decision - which turned out to be Britain's worst ever military blunder - by playing on his Percial's representation as a rabbit, his fears, and nightmares. Whilst an interesting and engaging angle, this psychoanalysis of a now-dead military leader is probably going a step too far and one criticism one may level at this novel is that it tries to do too much. However, the sheer panic as the Japanese tanks sweep through Malaya towards Singapore is tangible through the author's powerful style, along with the tragic resignation as the colony is surrendered. The final scene of the book is the most moving, as the Japanese begin to march characters off to their hideous POW camps, most of them never to be seen again. The Singapore Swing is a tragic commentary on the follies and evils of empire - both British and Japanese. Well worth a look, but probably sits better as the last book of a trilogy rather than an entity on its own, not because of continuity problems (of which there are none), but rather that the last of the three is probably the weakest individually and is rather flat when viewed in isolation, aside from which it doesn't really do authorial intention enough credit.

Singapore Gripping
15 August 2000

I SIMPLY CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS WONDERFUL STORY HIGHLY ENOUGH. I bought it purely on 'spec' as I was hunting around Amazon for any book on Singapore or the Far East (I was in a nostalgic mood for the exotic orient - probably our lousy summer weather here in the Uk did it). This book turned out to be an absolute treasure - Singapore in the last months before the fall to the Japanese is brought to life with remarkable vividness and the most loving detail. This is a truly compelling tale, by turns deeply poignant, hilarious, slap-stick, and bitterly ironic. Draped everywhere are succulent vignettes of colonial life and English eccentricity, all set against the dramatic, vast, dark tableau of the looming war in South-east Asia. It is a very clever and cleverly told story too. But the characters are the real strength here - it is a real ensemble piece, with a large and varied cast of 'players', and they are all so fascinating and three-dimensional you will find yourself completely captivated as you follow their progress and adventures, and watch them interact. An atmospheric, evocative, pungent, compelling, spell-binding book, perfect for tucking up in bed with on a cold rainy night, which will utterly absorb you into its streets and settings. I EXHORT YOU to order this book. J.G. Farrell was unknown to me before I stumbled across this book here at Amazon, and now I shall be ordering a couple more of his books next. The Singapore Grip is supposedly one of three books by Farrell referred to by critics as Farrell's 'Empire Trilogy' - guess what I'm ordering next!