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 : Finding George Orwell in Burma

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Binding: Hardcover
Format: Bargain Price
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 304
Publication Date: June 02, 2005




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Editorial Review:

Product Description:
In one of the most intrepid travelogues in recent memory, Emma Larkin tells of the year she spent traveling through Burma, using as a compass the life and work of George Orwell, whom many of Burma’s underground teahouse intellectuals call simply "the Prophet." In stirring prose, she provides a powerful reckoning with one of the world’s least free countries. Finding George Orwell in Burma is a brave and revelatory reconnaissance of modern Burma, one of the world’s grimmest and most shuttered police states, where the term "Orwellian" aptly describes the life endured by the country’s people.



Customer Reviews
Average Rating:  out of 5 stars

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Homage to Burma?...
Hardly. Orwell saved that for Catalonia. Emma Larkin has written a wonderful, realistic book on modern Burma, structuring it by tracing the path of George Orwell when he was a colonial officer there in the `20's. As she indicates in the prologue, many Burmese believe that he wrote not one novel, but rather a trilogy about the country: "Burmese Days," "Animal Farm" and "1984." The later two books may have unintentional described the conditions in Burma today. I have previously read "Burmese Days" ... Read More



Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - The Time of the Green Spectacles
Finding George Orwell in Burma


The premise of Emma Larkin's intriguing book is that the current political climate in Burma was eerily forecast in three of George Orwell's books: "Burmese Days," his first book based on his experience in the British Police Force in Burma in the 1920's; "Animal Farm," the allegory in which beasts take on the characteristics of their oppressors; and "1984," the grim projection of totalitarianism regimes. "It is a particularly uncanny twist of fate ... Read More



Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Orwell the Prophet: biographical footnotes
I learned some new things about Orwell. Most importantly: did you know that O. wrote 3 books about Burma, not just 1 as I had thought, naively?
After 'Burmese Days', there was also 'Animal Farm' (how the pigs with the dogs overthrew the farmers to take power) and then '1984' (how the powers control the minds and the records). These are predictions on Burma! Who would doubt it?
Second: when O was on his death bed, dying from TB at a much too young age, he was working on another novel or ... Read More



Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Eric Blair in Burma
Emma Larkin methodically followed Eric Blair's footsteps in Burma. As an expatriate Burmese (having left the country in 1969), I find her description of the present socio-political situation in Burma and the parallels she draws with Orwell's vision of the human condition rather fascinating. I agree with Larkin that Blair's experiences in Burma had a definite impact on Orwell's views about the nature of human societies, but more interestingly, it is clear from the way Larkin describes many Burmese in ... Read More



Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - A side of Burma that visitors can't see
I visited Burma recently for a tourism visit. I read this book in preparation. Since much of the narrative is in historical terms, I didn't, at first, get a sense of what to expect. Only on my return did I realize that it gave me a much richer experience than I otherwise would have had. It is an often beautiful book. I got to see a number of the places that are mentioned in the book, but I frequently recalled her descriptions, rich with historical context, when I was there.

What I gained ... Read More







 






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