King Rat

by James Clavell Book 4 in the The Asian Saga series.

First published 1962

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4.6(5,111)

In the final months of the Second World War, Allied prisoners at Changi survive on inadequate rations, rumour and a camp economy in which almost everything can be traded. An American corporal known as the King has used black-market skill to gain food, influence and protection far beyond his military rank.

British officer Peter Marlowe becomes his friend and interpreter, while Lieutenant Grey attempts to expose the King’s dealings. The novel examines how captivity changes morality and status, and what happens when liberation restores the outside rules that allowed neither man to thrive in the camp.