Saint Jack [Mass Market Paperback]

Paul Theroux (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 12, 1979

At first Jack was the youngest drinker at the Bandung Club, but now at 53 he is almost a fixture at the bar, an institution. Expatriates like him begin to fear dying, alone and vulnerable, in an alien tropic. And Jack still dreams of success. How can he convert his dream into reality?

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (February 12, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345277082
• ISBN-13: 978-0345277084
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,158,083 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Paul Theroux's highly acclaimed novels include Blinding Light, Hotel Honolulu, My Other Life, Kowloon Tong, and The Mosquito Coast. His renowned travel books include Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, Dark Star Safari, Riding the Iron Rooster, The Great Railway Bazaar, The Old Patagonian Express, and The Happy Isles of Oceania. He lives in Hawaii and on Cape Cod.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Novel of Singapore, August 5, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Saint Jack (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:

5.0 out of 5 stars Early Theroux That Holds Up Nicely, June 12, 2002

By 

Neil Cotiaux (North Canton, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Saint Jack (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:

5.0 out of 5 stars expat life, January 28, 2000

By 

An Avid Fan (Macungie, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saint Jack (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.