Ebook Finding George Orwell in Burma Emma Larkin 9780143037118 Books

Product details Paperback 304 pages Publisher Penguin Books; 5th Paperback Edition edition (March 6, 2006) Language English ISBN-10 9780143037118 ISBN-13 978-0143037118 ASIN 0143037110

Finding George Orwell in Burma Emma Larkin 9780143037118 Books Reviews

• This book has more than met my expectations - it has exceeded them. Emma Larkin has done her research. And she did it before she went to Burma. She has looked at the full Burmese experience, from the standpoints of the ordinary Burmese, the victims of violence perpetrated by the brutal military junta, the equally-brutal British empire, and before, to the (British) bureaucrats who ran the country in Orwell's time and until they packed up and left, as well as that of a visiting foreigner.
  Rarely does one come across a better-written travelogue, so well researched, so rich in detail, so descriptive of experiences, and so complete in the space it took to write in it. Hats off to Ms. Larkin.
• I've been a frequent visitor to Myanmar for the past 5 years, and have watched with interest its transition from the country Emma Larkin has described to one that is now catching up with the region around it. It's a beautiful and fascinating place. I also finally got around to reading Orwell's Burmese Days, and I can understand Ms Larkin's effective approach of interweaving this view of a world long gone, but not very pleasant when it existed, with Orwell's other two almost written for Burma-as-was books - 1984 and Animal Farm. She also relates Orwell to specific places in Myanmar, many of which I've visited, or will visit now that I know the Orwell connection. While her characters, the people she interviews, are almost all opposed to the military government, this probably reflects several facts that would have been relevant when she wrote the book most of the population probably opposed the government at the time (as the recent elections seem to have confirmed), she was working more or less incognito, although apparently followed at almost every step by the Military Intelligence agencies, and the government did not interact with authors or journalists.
• While preparing to take an extensive trip to Myanmar this past year I acquired a number of current and Classic books on Burma to get the lay of the land. George Orwell's masterpiece brought to life the world of English ExPats in colonial Burma under the British rule. The detail of the lives of foreigners living in a place and time rapidly changing beneath their feet made my imagination run wild. There are lessons to be learned from Orwell that naive neo colonialists and political scientists should study about life among folks not quite like you.
  A powerful look at people and communities.
• Well the book exceeded my expectations in every way. It does provide a good deal of really fascinating information about Orwell and his adventures in Burma as an agent of the British Empire, but it does a lot more than that. It is a brilliant travel book that describes in beautiful prose the towns and countryside of central Burma. More significantly it describes the political nightmare that has afflicted Burma since the days of Ne Win (1962). The author follows Orwell's postings as a police officer in Burma and provides fascinating descriptions of the places he was stationed and more interestingly presents wonderful stories of the people now living in those places. This book is undoubtedly banned in Burma because it presents a devastating account of the repressive and corrupt rule of the Burmese Army over the last 40 odd years. Yet I think the author is both fair and accurate in describing present day Burma.
  
  The author of this book is a remarkable person in his or her own right. "Emma Larkin" (a pseudonym) is a unique American who has actually taken the time to learn to speak and read Burmese. Written Burmese is based on Sanskrit and looks to the uninformed, like myself, as a serious of small circle or half circles tied on lines. Anybody who can read it certainly has my admiration. Further `Larkin's' affection for Burma and the Burmese is obvious and as a result the book provides a very sympathetic picture of the people of central Burma. My one disappointment in the book is the author spends very little time discussing the non-Burmese hill tribes (Shan, Kachin, etc.), but that wasn't the intent of the book. This is a wonderful book about as little known and reclusive country by a well informed and perceptive observer.
• A remarkable inside look at life in a totalitarian state. The Burmese people that the author encounters reveal an inner strength of character forged in an atmosphere of oppression and constant observation reminiscent of Orwell's 1984.
  
  The author travels extensively through this country tracing the footsteps of George Orwell when he was stationed there as an imperial policeman. Along the way the not so subtle effects of a state where none of the freedoms we take for granted exist become more and more evident to the reader.
  
  The author presents these people and their stories in a very objective fashion and doesn't seek to sensationalize their struggles for political purpose. The effect of this style is actually very powerful because the reader gradually draws the only possible conclusion regarding the current regime in Burma.
  
  This is a fine book that is part travelogue, part biography, but more than anything a testament to how people survive in a country where human rights and freedom are essentially non-existent.
• In this book, Emma Larkin skillfully weaves George Orwell's life into the fabric of modern Burma (Myanmar). Three of Orwell's books - Burmese Days, Animal Farm, and 1984 - create the background in describing Burma's life under British rule, and the rigidity of Burmese life today. I have always enjoyed a woman's approach to history (eg Wild Swans) , as women focus on the difficulties of feeding families and raising children in difficult times. I also gained a keen understanding of the private struggles of Orwell's life. It's a good read, but I think you should have an interest in political history, Myanmar or Orwell before you buy. I read this book as part of my background study for an upcoming trip to Myanmar. It served me well