by J.G. Farrell
First published 1984
Walter Blackett commands British Singapore's oldest trading company as 1939 draws to a close. Labor strikes plague his business empire despite brutal police crackdowns. His daughter pursues relationships with men he considers beneath her station. Meanwhile, his business partner's son proves equally frustrating as a potential son-in-law. The young man champions the League of Nations and refuses to eat meat. War in Europe drives Allied demand for rubber sky-high, allowing Blackett to manipulate prices and corner markets. Yet something feels amiss in this colonial paradise of rigid social hierarchies. Neither Blackett nor his fellow expatriates imagine their privileged world will soon collapse entirely. As personal conflicts intensify and military threats gather, Singapore becomes a city preparing for siege while its residents remain blind to the approaching catastrophe.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, war
Vibes: emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-secrets, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Singapore
Period: 1939
576 pages · Paperback · Flamingo
Content warnings: colonialism