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Burmese Days (7 Cassettes)

Burmese Days (7 Cassettes)

List Price: $56.95
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: eh
Review: Burmese Days is the story of a self-conscious English gentleman, Flory, who is repulsed by the actions of his fellow Englishmen, and wishes to find someone with whom he can share the love/hate relationship he has with Burma and the Burmese. He thinks he finds this person in Elizabeth Lackersteen, but slowly realizes how shallow and arrogant she really is.

It addresses issues like race and assimilation well, and has interesting characters, but I felt detached and bored while reading it. The plot is rather outlandish, and the ending was predictable, though the book has a lot of irony and even laugh-out-loud moments.
An OK book, but I expected more from Orwell.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: potential, but little payoff
Review: Good ideas squandered in a story with one dimensional characters where everything is whipped up into a Hardy Boys/Harlequin Romance froth.

Rating: 5 stars
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: 3 stars
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: 2 stars
Summary: potential, but little payoff
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: 5 stars
Summary: George at his Best
Review: Now if you ask me, and a lot of folks do, this here book is George's best. Them other books what got made in to moving pictures are more famous, but this one is his all time best work... on account of the racial tension and love interests and birth marks and such. I will never understand why them Hollywood lemmings don't do this one up as a talkie. They done did Graham Greene's Quiet American, so I suggest that this one ought to be next.

After Huckleberry Finn, this book is probably the best fictionalized look at racial relations and the underlying friction stemming from interaction with folk not the same as the protagonist. A lot of folks might could miss this fact if they read too quickly or they skim over the detail, but I took the time to slow down and really enjoy this one... mainly by reading after the twins were in bed and Junior was off playing computer games or something.

Believe it or not, I been to Burma (twice) and each time I was there I was reminded of this book... mainly because Orwell captures the essence of the place from the perspective of an outsider, but also because the title of the book uses the name "Burma" and it's kind of hard to get that out of your head. I don't understand why folks in the West have bought in to the recently assigned name for Burma seeing as how the folks on the street there don't like the new name because it was foisted on them by the evil henchmen who run the joint.

Read the book, and continue using "Burma" and you'll be a better person for it. Plus that, it's a delightful read... so delightful I done read it cover to cover then went back and started reading it all over again... mainly because mama was busy watching some nonsense on the television and I didn't want to go to bed yet.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Summers in Rangoon
Review: Orwell's "Burma Days" is a masterpiece. I ought stop right here and just do nothing more than insist in my most persuasive tones that you should read it. But that wouldn't be much of a review, so I will say that Orwell wrote a novel that showcases exquisitely-drawn characters against Colonial Burma and the English Raj in the most masterful way possible. The descriptions of the British and Burmese characters (especially the unsavory ones,) the sweltering heat, the sodden texture of everything rotting in the jungle humidity, and the awful, filthy Burmese food are astonishingly to the point. After a few paragraphs, you can almost feel the brazen sun roasting your own head.

James Flory, the protagonist, is described as ugly, deformed, badly brought up, cheaply educated, and yet, we sympathize with him, as Orwell means us to do. Flory is obviously an alter-ego of Orwell, who also served in Burma. The plot, where a nasty local Burmese magistrate connives to discredit a social climber of an Indian doctor, is a simple enough device to manipulate each character along the fatalistic road to Hell.

The theme of a man past his youth, who drinks and thinks too much, who falls in love with a simple, thoughtless pretty woman is very like Winston Smith in 1984 and his fatal attraction to Julia. Here, Flory falls smack in love with Elizabeth, who is a bob-haired adolescent who cringes at the word "Art."

Orwell satirizes the British bullies and exiled failures who run the colonies and love the natives for being powerless and meek. Orwell's eye for cruelty is sharp, his wit is biting, and his writing skill is at its best in this novel. Highly recommended.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: eh
Review: Orwell's "Burma Days" is a masterpiece. I ought stop right here and just do nothing more than insist in my most persuasive tones that you should read it. But that wouldn't be much of a review, so I will say that Orwell wrote a novel that showcases exquisitely-drawn characters against Colonial Burma and the English Raj in the most masterful way possible. The descriptions of the British and Burmese characters (especially the unsavory ones,) the sweltering heat, the sodden texture of everything rotting in the jungle humidity, and the awful, filthy Burmese food are astonishingly to the point. After a few paragraphs, you can almost feel the brazen sun roasting your own head.

James Flory, the protagonist, is described as ugly, deformed, badly brought up, cheaply educated, and yet, we sympathize with him, as Orwell means us to do. Flory is obviously an alter-ego of Orwell, who also served in Burma. The plot, where a nasty local Burmese magistrate connives to discredit a social climber of an Indian doctor, is a simple enough device to manipulate each character along the fatalistic road to Hell.

The theme of a man past his youth, who drinks and thinks too much, who falls in love with a simple, thoughtless pretty woman is very like Winston Smith in 1984 and his fatal attraction to Julia. Here, Flory falls smack in love with Elizabeth, who is a bob-haired adolescent who cringes at the word "Art."

Orwell satirizes the British bullies and exiled failures who run the colonies and love the natives for being powerless and meek. Orwell's eye for cruelty is sharp, his wit is biting, and his writing skill is at its best in this novel. Highly recommended.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Treachery and stale culture in the Far East
Review: Say the name George Orwell and what do you think of? Either Animal Farm or 1984, or more likely both. These two are his most (and only) famous works, but also they are his last two. It turns out he wrote six, and the first is Burmese Days, a close look at what Orwell clearly saw as the sick British culture in colonial Burma. He was, as it happens, well qualified to make this assertion, having served in Burma himself as a young man. How much the novel duplicates his experience probably depends more on how trustworthy you see Orwell than on anything else, because he wears his opinions on his sleeve throughout the writing.

This, more than any other feature, sets Burmese Days lower on the quality scale than it otherwise might be. It reads like someone's first novel. If not for the success of the above mentioned books, Burmese Days would probably exist, if at all, in total obscurity. This is partially justified. By many standards, it's just not that good a book. Orwell falls into the trap of letting the invisible narrator make social commentary - lots of social commentary. And that doesn't work. It didn't work for Tolstoy's last novel, and it doesn't work for Orwell's first. And lest there be any confusion on his opinions, Orwell keeps most of the characters flat and uninspiring. Most of them are just there to present the image of colonial racism, venality, small mindedness, and snobbery needed to make the point.

The only two exceptions among the British cast are the main character, John Flory, and the young British woman, new to town, Elizabeth. Flory is a timer merchant who presumably carries Orwell's opinions. He is genuinely unhappy with the colonial racism inherent in the system, but lacks the spine to speak out. He means well, but recognizes that without his compatriots, his position in society is nothing. One can be easily cast out of polite society in their world and he doesn't have the will to fight it. Even when political infighting threatens his good Indian friend, Dr. Veraswami, he tries but continually fails to do the right thing. He is a man adrift.

Things could continue along those lines but for the introduction of Elizabeth. Our first glimpse of her is as a fairly level headed and interesting person who is obviously meant to become Flory's love interest. And indeed she does. But rather than fit her into an obvious stereotype, Orwell gives her a bit of variation. She turns out to be unintellectual and anti-artistic. But unlike most of the society women she can at least be interesting if Flory would only stop trying to get her interested in the native culture. About such things she shows no interest.

The other main storyline is about manipulations among the Burmese and other non-British residents. It is here that I start to question the whole premise of Burmese Days, or at least what I've read about it. Orwell attacks the racism of colonialism - fine - but why does he then portray the natives as different but in no way better than the British? This is really a very significant point. In no sense could anyone claim Orwell was attacking his country by artificially building up another. And that is a refreshing change, and we start to see even this far back the strict intellectual honesty that Orwell is noted for. There is a not large but sizeable cast of native characters. The first we meet is U Po Kyin, a thoroughly reprehensible man who schemes and plots his way to the top of native administration. He has no scruples whatsoever and he knows it. His plan for soul salvation is to spend his retirement years building pagodas until he's wiped clean his sins. But the unpleasant characters don't stop there. Flory's mistress is a gold-digging harlot. Most of the minor servant characters are either lazy or fawning or both. The closest we get to decent is the above-mentioned Dr. Veraswami. But he is so slavishly anglophilish and such a self-hating Indian that it would be embarrassing to listen to him if we met him in real life. So again, what was Orwell's point? When I read Animal Far a few months ago, I noted that what I read in the book is not quite what's been said about the book. Though few people say much about Burmese Days, I still found it to be more subtle on some points than the editorials would make one think, and this despite the heavy handed tone and commentary. Orwell is not so much saying that colonialism is bad for what it does to the natives, though that aspect is there, but for what it does to the ruling class. Bravo to Orwell for making more than a one-dimension point. So despite the problems, it's still an interesting tale of scheming and frustrations. Just don't expect anything Earth shaking.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Brilliant but devastating look at English-Colonial Burma.
Review: This novel, though not as well known as Orwell's famous "1984," is political criticism at its best. Drawing heavily on his own experiences in colonial Burma in the early decades of the 20th century, Orwell has painted us an eye-opening and painful portrait of that world. The protagonist is an Englishman named James Flory, living in the small town of Kyauktada. He is different from his fellow English colonials, outcast because of his sympathy for the Burmese and friendship with the local native Dr. Veraswami, and constantly ashamed and self-conscious because of an unsightly birthmark across his face.

Flory is a rather pathetic creature, lacking the courage to stand up for what he believes in and to defend his friend Veraswami from the corrupt local politician who wishes to ruin him. He also falls for a pretty young woman, Elizabeth Lackersteen, probably because she is the only Englishwoman of marriageable age anywhere in the vicinity. She is, in reality, just as shallow and empty-headed as the rest of the English colonials, though Flory fails to see this. And yet despite all this we still sympathize with Flory, because he is the only one who recognizes and expresses disgust at the injustices being done by the English toward the Burmese.

This is a depressing book, no doubt about it. Flory lacks the strength necessary to avert disaster, and disaster is what occurs. Yet "Burmese Days" is a brilliant novel that is well-worth the read, and indeed should by read by everyone. There are few, if any, truly likeable characters in the book, but each serves an important role in delivering Orwell's messages about colonialism, racism, society, and the role of women. Nothing is spared in this biting, cynical, astute look at human nature. The ending is the ultimate irony, and packs the final, depressing punch.

George Orwell is among the best of English writers in terms of creating atmosphere and a sense of realism, and "Burmese Days" is a prime example. The descriptions are so vivid that the Burmese jungles simply rise up off the pages, steaming and sweltering, to greet you. You can almost feel the deadening heat and humidity, the mugginess, the stickiness, and it brings the misery of the characters to life. Orwell's language flows smoothly and achieves its aim to utmost perfection. This particular edition (1974 Harvest Books printing) has a few distracting typos, but not so many that I'd knock down my rating of the book overall. Definitely a must-read.


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