Set in the days of the Empire, with the British ruling in Burma, "Burmese Days" describes both indigenous corruption and Imperial bigotry, when 'after all, natives were natives - interesting, no doubt, but finally only a 'subject' people, an inferior people with black faces'. Against the prevailing orthodoxy, Flory, a white timber merchant, befriends Dr Veraswami, a black enthusiast for Empire. The doctor needs help. U Po Kyin, Sub-divisional Magistrate of Kyauktada, is plotting his downfall. The only thing that can save him is European patronage: membership of the hitherto all-white Club. While Flory prevaricates, beautiful Elizabeth Lackersteen arrives in Upper Burma from Paris. At last, after years of 'solitary hell', romance and marriage appear to offer Flory an escape from the 'lie' of the 'pukka sahib pose'.
Burmese Days
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Imagine crossing E.M. Forster with Jane Austen. Stir in a bit of socialist doctrine, a sprig of satire, strong Indian curry, and a couple quarts of good English gin and you get something close to the flavor of George Orwell's intensely readable and deftly plotted Burmese Days. In 1930, Kyauktada, Upper Burma, is one of the least auspicious postings in the ailing British Empire--and then the order comes that the European Club, previously for whites only, must elect one token native member. This edict brings out the worst in this woefully enclosed society, not to mention among the natives who would become the One. Orwell mines his own Anglo-Indian background to evoke both the suffocating heat and the stifling pettiness that are the central facts of colonial life: "Mr. MacGregor told his anecdote about Prome, which could be produced in almost any context. And then the conversation veered back to the old, never-palling subject--the insolence of the natives, the supineness of the Government, the dear dead days when the British Raj was the Raj and please give the bearer fifteen lashes. The topic was never let alone for long, partly because of Ellis's obsession. Besides, you could forgive the Europeans a great deal of their bitterness. Living and working among Orientals would try the temper of a saint."
Protagonist James Flory is a timber merchant, whose facial birthmark serves as an outward expression of the ironic and left-leaning habits of mind that make him inwardly different from his coevals. Flory appreciates the local culture, has native allegiances, and detests the racist machinations of his fellow Club members. Alas, he doesn't always possess the moral courage, or the energy, to stand against them. His almost embarrassingly Anglophile friend, Dr. Veraswami, the highest-ranking native official, seems a shoo-in for Club membership, until Machiavellian magistrate U Po Kyin launches a campaign to discredit him that results, ultimately, in the loss not just of reputations but of lives. Whether to endorse Veraswami or to betray him becomes a kind of litmus test of Flory's character.
Against this backdrop of politics and ethics, Orwell throws the shadow of romance. The arrival of the bobbed blonde, marriageable, and resolutely anti-intellectual Elizabeth Lackersteen not only casts Flory as hapless suitor but gives Orwell the chance to show that he's as astute a reporter of nuanced social interactions as he is of political intrigues. In fact, his combination of an astringently populist sensibility, dead-on observations of human behavior, formidable conjuring skills, and no-frills prose make for historical fiction that stands triumphantly outside of time. --Joyce Thompson --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
About the Author
Eric Arthur Blair (George Orwell) was born in India in 1903. He was educated at Eton, served with the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, and worked in Britain as a private tutor, schoolteacher, bookshop assistant and journalist. In 1936, Orwell went to fight for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War and was wounded. In 1938 he was admitted into a sanatorium and from then on was never fully fit. George Orwell died in London in 1950. Emma Larkin is the pseudonym for an American journalist who was born and raised in Asia, studied the Burmese language at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, and covers Asia in her journalism from her base in Bangkok. She has been visiting Burma for close to ten years.
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First Sentence
U Po Kyin, Sub-divisional Magistrate of Kyauktada, in Upper Burma, was sitting in his veranda. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
U Po Kyin, Sub-divisional Magistrate of Kyauktada, in Upper Burma, was sitting in his veranda. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By John Pierce
Format:Paperback
I have to admit to being a huge Orwell fan and having lived in Burma for several years (and having visited the location of the story in "Burmese Days" (Katha), I believe this book presents one of the most accurate representations of the Burmese character and of the relationship (that was) between the Burmese (as opposed to the Karen, the Chin and other minorities). Anyone who desires to understand Burma, its people and its government (Aung San, Ne Win to the present SPDC) should read this book. It is a masterful work that remains important for several reasons.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This novel explores the difficult racial issues surrounding colonialized Burma from a perspective that was obviously intensely personal for Orwell. What's interesting is the way in which these issues relate to our culture today. The debate over Affirmative Action bears a strong resemblance to the disagreements of the white colonials with the officials. Flory whose devotion to cultural difference is touching, if somewhat simplistic, and brings this story alive. Orwell is always good at cutting to the heart of the matter realising that our most intense difficulties over racial and social difference are basedon simplistic attitudes. He represents this well in the case of Elizabeth whose interest in cultural difference is based more in a stereotype than the actual culture. The romance is an interesting exploration of Orwell's tentative attitude toward women, but is also essentially a debate over whether to side with the one's culture of origin or maintain a respect for the culture upon which you haveviolently intruded. Flory's inadequicy is a strong symbol of guilt over the imperialist regime he is forced to enforce and actively practice but can never fully accept. The novel will never strike you as being directly political, but more about the difficulty of accepting one'sown individual idea of identity within the influence of social propaganda. It explores more fully all of the issues Orwell condensed in his essay Shooting an Elephant'.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Orwell, Burmese Days. Re-read after 20 years; and comparison with Forster's Passage to India.
Mar 27 2013
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this to re-read after 20 years to compare with Forster's Passage to India. It stands up well, despite its relative lack of subtlety, and I found I had remembered it pretty well. O's vision of local colour was at least as vivid as Forster's; and his picture of the hideous racism of the British expatriates and administrators more damning that Forster's. But I didn't like the version of the text the editors had selected.
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4.3 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
The Evil Side Of Colonialism
Orwell spent five years working in the Burma police force. This novel is his spin on colonial life in Burma.
According to Orwell, colonialism is a purely evil force. Read more
According to Orwell, colonialism is a purely evil force. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Patrick Sullivan
3.0 out of 5 stars
a disapointment to Orwell fans
Fans of 1984 will be sorely disapointed in this book but it is enjoyable enough if you enter it with incredibly low expectations. Read more
Published on Jun 23 2003 by Anonymous
3.0 out of 5 stars
A SLICE OF LIFE - DAYS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE
NEVER WOULD I HAVE THOUGHT THAT I COULD READ A BOOK ABOUT THE LIVES OF THE NATIVES AND BRITISH IN A BRITISH COLONY IN BURMA DURING THE TIME OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE!! BUT I DID! ... Read more
Published on April 30 2002 by LINDA LEVEN
5.0 out of 5 stars
excellent and still relevant.
this book follows mr. flory, a man of contradictions living and working in burma. the story really is that of love, imperialism, race and blackmail. Read more
Published on Feb 27 2002 by gasmark9@hotmail.com
3.0 out of 5 stars
Orwell tries, but turns out not being effective enough
As I read this book, I felt that it was really dragging along. Although Orwell tries very hard to show the shortcomings of imperialism, the book will most likely turn off leisure... Read more
Published on May 4 2001 by "wister285"
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cinematic Chronicle of Sickness
Unevenly written at times, but a great story of the decaying British empire: After some 15 years in hot and miserable Upper Burma, the wretched James Flory, 35, a man whose inner... Read more
Published on April 5 2001 by R. Walker
5.0 out of 5 stars
the hypocrosy of colonialism displayed
This well plotted tale of betrayal and hypocrosy in an English colonial outpost is an extraordinarily good read on several levels. Read more
Published on April 5 2001 by R. J. Marsella
5.0 out of 5 stars
Burmese Days
What a great example of the Euro-centric train of mind. It is an interesting comment on the supposed superiorty of European white men.
Published on Mar 15 2001 by Tom
5.0 out of 5 stars
Biting satire; Orwell at his very best!
It is a pity that all the attention on Orwell is always on Animal Farm and 1984, becuase he has in his short life written quite a few other brilliant books of which Burmese Days is... Read more
Published on Dec 2 2000 by Gerrit Ruitinga
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good account of life in colonial Asia
If anyone wants to know how English colonials in India/Burma/Asia etc truly behaved--their racism, their ignorance, their arrogance, their lack of humanity--then this is a good... Read more
Published on Nov 2 2000
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