Description
Book SynopsisIn Burmese Days, George Orwell, one of the most famous writers in the English language, draws on his own experience of living and working in Burma to write an unflinching novel about the dark side of imperialism.
Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition features an introduction by journalist and writer David Eimer.
John Flory is a disillusioned timber merchant based in the remote town of Kyauktada in 1920s Burma. Whilst his English peers gather night after night to drink and gossip in their exclusive club, Flory has embraced local life – his best friend is Dr Veraswami and his mistress is Ma Hla May. The slow, sticky, hot days are interrupted by the arrival of the young and beautiful Elizabeth. And when the club is forced to elect a non-white member, Flory is caught up in an increasingly hostile and dangerous feud.
Trade ReviewA scathing portrait of the imperious attitudes of the British. * New York Times *
Of all the fictions about colonial rule –
A Passage to India, The Raj Quartet, Out of Africa –
Burmese Days is the angriest, rawest, most scathing and least sentimental. * The Times *
A scathing indictment of imperialism, exposing the dark face of British rule in the subcontinent. * Hindu *
Orwell draws on his own experience and what’s so striking is how the uncomfortable echoes of that time still reverberate today among some expatriate circles in the region . . . A vaguely Austen feel permeates the romantic subplot;
the ending is devastating. * Travelfish *
Orwell can write . . . in Burmese Days he has written
a malodorous, realistic novel of the white man in the east, as he really is. * Kirkus Reviews *
