Rating: 
Summary: Devestatingly beuatiful and still so sad.
Review: I picked this novel up hoping that it would prove to be a bit less morose in the end than the two works by Blair that I'd read just prior to it (Animal Farm and 1984). It was not. It's the same desparity and coldness that Orwell sees in the real world. This novel is not about characters in Burma. It's about people being forgotten, used, trampled, marginalized and discarded. Racial and ethnic superiority are the least of our problems. Narcisism and solipcism are the most obvious causes of the events in this novel. Flory is a scared man who does not fully realize the potential he has and pays for his timidity. All-in-all this is a terrific novel that I would recommend to anyone looking for a strong substantial book to read.
Rating:
Summary: Possibly the best novel written about British Colonialism...
Review: I read this novel for the first time when I was sixteen and then again eleven years later. The profound shock which I felt was remarkable on both occasions. That someone could write with such bitter honesty about this dark chapter of human civilazation in that day and age seemed very hard to believe. But such an expose does exist and those who still have not read it have missed out on a lot. The novel grips one in its steel clutches and by the time it lets go, one is in a state of a much higher understanding of what colonialism must have meant to a lot of colonisers and the suffereing colonised. That this account comes from someone who was part of the colonising force in Burma is all the more remarkable and appreciable. This novel intrigued me so much about Orwell that I went on to read most of his other books and I have come to admire him tremendously and regard him as one of the most important writers of this century. If comparisons are a valid exercise, and I doubt whether they are, 'A Passage to India' rang shallow and naive in its treatment of colonialism after I sat down and compared it to Burmese Days. This is definitely the best I have read in the colonialism context and one of the best novels of the 20th century in my opinion. All casual and hardline supporters of colonialism as well as everyone else who is interested in the subject must read it. I have already gifted this book to several of my friends and recommend it to all those who read literature.
Rating: 
Summary: Good account of life in colonial Asia
Review: 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 book to read. Being of half-Indian descent, I had a particular interest in this book. It does a wonderful job in giving an account of the mentality and attitudes of the British Raj, though it does often move a bit slow (ie it gets boring at times). I would recommend it for anyone with an interest in the subject.
Rating:
Summary: Days of Imperialism
Review: In light of current American and British foreign policy concerns, the history of Western imperialism is becoming increasingly important to understand. America aspires to a sort of neo-colonialism in the Middle East. The British Nationalist Party won seats in the last election on an anti-immigration, imperialist platform. We are in danger of forgetting history and, aside from obscure intellectuals like Noam Chomsky, we're lacking in serious and intelligent commentary that can link our past to our future. In the face of this lack, I propose we look to George Orwell, whose acute observations and objectivity can bring a timelessness to the issues we're facing today.
Orwell was a humanist and a socialist whose writing was primarily concerned with how individuals are affected by social and political constructs. After graduating from Eton College in 1917, Orwell joined the Indian Imperial Police in Burma. He resigned in 1927 and published his first piece of fiction - Burmese Days - in 1934.
Burmese Days is the presumably semi-autobiographical story of John Flory, a British expatriate with a disfiguring facial birthmark who oversees timber camps in remote Kyauktada, Burma. Flory is a weak and lonely man who retreats to the European Club for drink and the questionable companionship of the other expatriates who share his outpost. Flory befriends a native doctor, Veriswami, who is vying with the novel's villain, U Po Kyin, for admission to the Club. When British debutante Elizabeth Lackersteen arrives in Kyauktada, Flory falls instantly in love with her, creating a weakness for U Po Kyin to exploit.
Of all his work, Orwell liked Burmese Days the least. He later felt it was a lifeless story, littered with purple prose. The characters are all fairly odious and hard for the reader to develop any affinity for. They are caricatures, used heavy-handedly to make a moral point. Flory is a coward who is amused by the exotic Oriental culture, but displays little respect for the Burmese people - particularly his mistress, Ma Hla May. U Po Kyin is a corrupt magistrate, willing to instigate a rebellion in order to bolster his position by suppressing it. Dr. Veriswami is a turncoat who tongue-bathes British superiority and holds his own people in contempt. Elizabeth is unwaveringly shallow and heartless, while the Club is peopled by a colorful variety of drunkards and bigots.
Orwell's writing is descriptive and succinct, rushing to its devastating climax in less than 150 pages. While this is an important book, it's not a highly readable one. It's loaded with Mon-Khmer words that are left to the reader to define from context. It's unnecessarily melodramatic and at times hard for the post-modern reader to swallow. We're given no opportunity to identify with the "wrong" characters, which appears didactic to a reader accustomed to modern literature, and the pace of the story has events unfolding at a speed that strains credibility. For example, Flory falls in love with and becomes intent upon marrying Elizabeth too quickly for the reader to sympathize.
But really this story's value lies in its place in the Orwell canon as an anti-imperialist polemic. The British Empire began in 1607 with the colonization of Jamestown, Virginia. It was established in order to gain raw materials for British industrial markets and included parts of Canada, the Carribean, Africa, India, and Australia. In 1886, England colonized Burma in order to protect the Indian border, but then discovered Burma was a good source of teak-wood. After three and a half centuries, the Empire ended when Britain joined the European Parliament in 1973.
Britain saw its purpose in occupation as an attempt to "educate" the natives to the British way of life which the imperialists considered an improvement for the countries under their rule. Meanwhile, the expatriates, who were often misfits in England, lived isolated from the natives and enjoyed a sense of superiority that they lacked in their homeland. This was unique among other colonial powers, such as France, which granted the natives of their colonies full rights of citizenship and lived among them, enjoying social relationships and often intermarrying.
Such racism and xenophobia is an overarching theme in Burmese Days and it's plausible that Orwell wrote the book as a sort of public penance for his own actions in Burma. The members of the European Club, whose classes would likely not have mixed in Britain, are united in Burma by their hatred and fear of the "local niggers". Flory is constantly torn between his own moral integrity and the social construct of domination that dictates he "forever dance the danse du pukka sahib for the edification of the lower races."
That reality itself is socially constructed is a consistent Orwellian theme, discovered in Burmese Days and perfected in 1984. In some ways, it's unfair to fault Orwell for not having this theme completely developed fifteen years before he wrote his definitive work. In colonial Burma, the consensual reality is that of the superiority of British society. Even as U Po Kyin and Veriswami go head-to-head, they do so with the assumption that their British masters are more worthy and more civilized than they, which fuels their desire for acceptance by the European Club.
Ultimately, Flory's intuitive sense that colonialism confounds human decency leaves him bitterly lonely. It's impossible for him to live sanely in a world that functions on an insane premise. Flory's relationship with Elizabeth underscores the power of loneliness to persuade the human heart to act against its better judgement. We are simply willing to conform to a reality that contradicts the evidence of our senses if it will spare us the gnawing pain of isolation.
For Flory, this has tragic and horrifying results. But this is a story that couldn't end well because neither the conformity nor the self-doubt imposed by colonialism can possibly end well. Flory's fate is symbolic of the fate of the British Empire, of imperialism itself, and finally of ourselves if we fail to heed the lessons of our history and use them to analyze the constructed paradigms of our modern world.
Rating: 
Summary: Something Nasty in Burma
Review: In up-country Burma, in the small village of Kyauktada, the British community represtents the outer edge of the Empire. John Flory, a timber merchant, stands out from the rest of the community, as he tries to maintain his contacts with the Indian doctor Veraswami, and as he does not share the others' blatently racist view of the locals. While the magistrate U Po Kin plots to distrupt the British, Elizabeth Lackersteen, niece of one of the British officials, arrives from Paris. Will the community be able to survive the (inevitable) disruption that will follow?"Burmese Days" is a very readable novel, full of excellent descriptive passages and sharply-observed humour. It is also a savage indictment of British imperialism: "... the lie that we're here to uplift our poor black brothers instead of to rob them. I suppose it's a natural enough lie. But it corrupts us, it corrupts us in ways you can't imagine." The awfulness of the British community is in its "exclusiveness" and its petty snobbery. The racism runs deep too - especially in the truly terrible Ellis. The novel fits into the tradition of British writing on the last days of the Empire - relfecting the sheer disillusionment with the imperial idea (not least on the part of the imperial administrators themselves). One thinks of such works as Forster's "A Passage to India" and Scott's "The Jewel in the Crown". It's interesting that in each of these works, the arrival or presence of a young British female is the major disruptive factor for the communities, bringing out into the open the absurdity of imperial rule. Although "Burmese Days" is interesting for all the reasons outlined above, it is not as accomplished as it might have been. Orwell's shifts from bitter critique to comedy, then again to high drama are at times uneven and are not always assured. Other parts of the novel are slightly overdone - for example the passages centred on U Po Kyin, which are far less convincing than the rest of the novel. Nonetheless an interesting part of the imperial epitaph. G Rodgers
Rating:
Summary: Biting satire; Orwell at his very best!
Review: 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 one. Burmese days is the strongest criticism of the colonial past I have read. It is a biting and cynical satire on the life of a bunch of worthless good-for-nothin's in the early part of this century in Birma. None of the characters is in the least likeable. The main protagonist Flory has his moments but fails miserably at the only instances ( the membership for the Club for his Indian friend)in which he could have made a difference. In a way he resembles Saint Peter but withouth the remorse. His collegues at the Club are at best an empty headed lazy bunch and at worst outright lower class racists. Ellis would have lived in the slums of London but here in Birma he feels superior to every "nigger"" ( That Orwell uses this word frequently adds to the dark and biting spirit of this novel). The girl, Elizabeth Lackersteen, is more stupid than Daphne Manners ( Jewel in the Crown) or Adela Quested ( Passage to India) and in her "innocence" ( by Orwell, more than Scott and Forster, poignant depicted as ignorance and stupidity) and causes the same problems for the people around them in particular the Birmese and the Indians. Is it clear that the Europeans are all sinners, the "surpressed" are certainly not saints. The birmese characters are extremely corrupt and the girls do not display very high moral values. The Indian doctor is wonderful; his whole life he has had only one ambition and that is to be part of the English class. In order to avoid embarrassment he assures the English, however, that when the membership is offered he will be deeply honoured but never use it! All this is written in a wonderful prose and a very tight storyline; the hand of a master. It helps you to understand how incompetent Colonial Rule has been in some places and in what a mess that has resulted. One has only to visit Birma these days ( as I do from time to time) to see what Orwell meant Reading the novel fifty years after the colonization ended gives you a severe feeling of embarassment and an everlasting impression of the Colonial past of the European countries. It will change the way you see things and that is what Orwell had in mind with all his social-realist work.
Rating:
Summary: A SLICE OF LIFE - DAYS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE
Review: 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! ... AND FOUND THE BOOK VERY ENLIGHTENING AND ENTERTAINING. THE STORY CENTERS AROUND THE PRESTIGIOUS "BRITISH CLUB" AND A GROUP OF BRITS WITH THEIR ANTAGONISMS AND PREJUDICES TOWARD THE NATIVES.ONE GENTLEMAN, THE MAIN FOCUS OF THE TALE, IS UNHAPPY WITH THE WAY IN WHICH HIS FELLOW COUNTRYMEN TREAT THE NATIVE BURMESE AND HAS BEFRIENDED A NATIVE MEDICAL DOCTOR. THE STORY'S CENTRAL PLOT FOCUSES ON HIS UNHAPPY LIFE IN BURMA AND HIS GROWING LOVE FOR A YOUNG BRITISH WOMAN WHO HAS COME TO THE COLONY TO FIND A HUSBAND.
A SECONDARY PLOT INVOLVES THE INTRIGUE AND MACHINATIONS OF A LOCAL NATIVE BURMESE TO WHEEDLE HIS WAY INTO THE BRITISH CLUB. THE BOOK IS WELL WRITTEN AND GIVES ONE AN INTERESTING AND ENLIGHTENING SLICE OF LIFE IN A BRITISH COLONY.IF THIS PLACE AND TIME ARE OF INTEREST, THEN BY ALL MEANS, THE BOOK IS A GOOD READ!...
Rating:
Summary: 3 stars Burmese Days
Review: One of the most interesting books I have read, from start to finish. I was intrigued by how the writer George Orwell portrayed each character's personality. Each character had their own unique characteristic. For example, Mr. Floury's character was unique in every aspect imaginable, by the way he tries to help Dr. Veraswami's get elected in the club. He was not always positive, but in some instances he was cruel. There was a demeanor about him that was portrayed very well from start to finish. Other character's worth mentioning is Ma Hla May (Flory's servant); her actions throughout the book were marvelous. Each time she appeared in the scene, her presence was felt strongly. Her actions thoughtout the book were driven by her vanity, which led to her arriving at the church and embarrassing Mr. Flory. Burmese days is one of the most memorable, epic, and historical book on colonization I have read. The book was not just about one-man entrance in a club, but also of the hatred people bestow on each other. Was it their vanity that had driven everyone in the town? Is the failure to socialize extended to the natives ? U Po Kyin, villain who tormented everyone, a man without any sympathy, a man who was known to be notorious throughout the town. Most of the turmoil, which occurred during the book can be traced back to U Po Kyin doings. The addition of U Po Kyin made the book mysterious and full of mayhem. There is nothing one can add to make the book any better. I can say that the book is perfect in all aspect imaginable.
Rating:
Summary: A minor Orwell classic
Review: Orwell mines the rich experience of British colonialism in the same way he mined his Spanish Civil War experience. The difference that here he uses the novel as his means of expression. This is a quality piece of Orwellian writing. Which means that it is excellent. His themes are the decay of the British both empire and colonists and the difference between not just knowing right versus wrong but also acting on it. Orwell's descriptions of British colonists and their insular world and that contrast between the poverty and anger of the colonized is well done. He doesn't treat the Burmese as noble nor as crafty second class citizens. The great struggle here is within Flory. A man who represents the colonizers and comes to realize they are no better and no worse than the colonized. As always Orwell is one of the greatest at locating and describing human behavior and culture. He is one of the great writers of the twentieth century.
Rating:
Summary: Snapshot of Colonial Times and Attitudes
Review: Orwell writes an engaging novel that clearly reveals typical attitudes from the side of the master and of the servant. I found that his portrayal of the British men in the lonely Burmese outpost to be believable and probably highly descriptive of common beliefs of the day. I also found his treatment of the subservient native population to be most likely accurate.
Orwell has a way of capturing thoughts and emotions common to any man, and he expresses those so very clearly. He clearly shows the danger and sadness of unrestrained ego, of submission to the baser desires common to man, and of the passions of men in search of significance.
While some argue that the work is not relevant to today, I argue otherwise. The same racist attitudes, conniving spirits, and raw emotions are just as prevalent today in every culture of the world as Orwell's day of 80 years ago and as probably all of history. The novel is chock full of lines worthy to be quoted with frequency.
It is an excellent read for those interested in the British Colonial Empire, the history of subjugation, or just a story of love forsaken.
Likewise, those interested in Indian/British history may consider an equally informative book by Mark Tully called "No Full Stops in India."
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