The Singapore Grip

The Singapore Grip is a novel by J. G. Farrell. It was published in 1978, a year before his death.

The Singapore Grip
First edition
AuthorJ. G. Farrell
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
GenreBritish colonial fiction
Postcolonial literature
PublisherWeidenfeld & Nicolson
Publication date
1978
Media typePrint (Hardback)
Pages558
ISBN0-297-77445-X
Preceded byThe Siege of Krishnapur 

In 2015, The Straits Times' Akshita Nanda selected The Singapore Grip as one of ten classic Singapore novels. She wrote, "Neatly weaving in snappy, comic summaries of Singapore history as well as the commercial and cultural forces that shaped the trajectory of World War II in South-east Asia and China."

Synopsis

The Singapore Grip is a satirical book about events following Japan's entry into the Second World War by invading South East Asia and swiftly occupying Singapore. The story centres on a British family who control one of the colony's leading trading companies. The title derives from a slang phrase for a sexual technique also known as pompoir or Kabzah.[1]

Reception

"A brilliant, complex, richly absurd and melancholy monument to the follies and splendours of Empire, " wrote Hilary Spurling for The Times Literary Supplement.

In 2015, Akshita Nanda, writing for The Straits Times, chose ten novels which describe Singapore in the past five decades, The Singapore Grip among their number.[2]

Television adaptation

The Singapore Grip has been adapted as a series for Britain's ITV Television. The series debut was on BBC First in Australia on 26 July 2020.[3] Luke Treadaway, David Morrissey and Elizabeth Tan star in the "epic and ambitious" TV adaptation of Booker Prize winner J.G. Farrell's 1978 novel.[4][5][6]

References
  1. "What is the 'Singapore Grip'? The meaning behind the name of ITV's new period drama".
  2. "Ten novels which describe Singapore in the past five decades". 28 January 2015.
  3. "The Singapore Grip: The ugliness of colonial snobbery laid bare". NewsComAu. 24 July 2020.
  4. "When is The Singapore Grip on TV?". Radio Times. 15 September 2019.
  5. "The Singapore Grip: ITV drama called 'harmful' and 'deeply upsetting'". BBC News. 9 September 2020.
  6. "The Singapore Grip: ITV criticised for 'upsetting' drama about British colonialism". The Telegraph. 8 September 2020.
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