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mediumsquare's review against another edition
3.0
It's difficult to judge a political book on its merits when news of Burma's treatment of the Rohinga peoples continues to confuse those of us who might have supposed that Suu Kyi wouldn't stand for this humanitarian crisis. The question lingered in the back of my mind throughout the book - when she talks about her people, the Burmese people, for whom she suffered indignities and separation from family - is she excluding that group? Why does she remain silent now?
Despite these reservations, her writing style is fluid and nicely depicts life in Burma with its festivals and traditions. The driving current of these letters, however, is very much the mistreatment of her party and supporters at the hands of the reigning SLORC. The meaning of her steadfast words, while true for the Buddhist Burmese, do ring a bit hollow these days.
Despite these reservations, her writing style is fluid and nicely depicts life in Burma with its festivals and traditions. The driving current of these letters, however, is very much the mistreatment of her party and supporters at the hands of the reigning SLORC. The meaning of her steadfast words, while true for the Buddhist Burmese, do ring a bit hollow these days.
lauren_endnotes's review against another edition
It is a challenge to read this book, published in 1996, and not consider the events that have occured since its publication. In fact, they change the whole tenor of the book.
Aung San Suu Kyi's collection of articles "Letters from Burma" was my choice for this month's Nobel Laureate read. She won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. Since Suu Kyi's release from house arrest, and the return of her political party to power in 2016, there has been increasing violence, and human rights abuses of the Rohingya Muslims in Western Burma.
And Aung San Suu Kyi is silent. The woman whose work has been called "unflagging" in her efforts for peace and conciliation (by Nobel committee) has stood by as people are murdered.
Habiburahman and Sophie Ansel state in FIRST, THEY ERASED OUR NAMES: A Rohingya Speaks "She had the power to save lives. She was free and the world was listening... But Aung San Suu Kui chose power."
This from the same person who states in her 1996 letters "Not only should one speak only the truth, one's speech should lead to HARMONY AMONG BEINGS, it should be like and pleasant as it should be beneficial." (Emphasis is mine...) And goes on in several essays to speak of her devotion to the Buddha and the Noble Eightfold Path, lovingkindess, and humanitarian efforts.
It is senseless violence and genocide causing ripple effects in the entire region, and 'The Lady' could have stopped the genocide decades ago. How is that lovingkindness?
Suu Kyi's Letters shed light on Burmese customs, festivals, her political party, her own life in house arrest, and her devotion to Buddhist teachers and philosophy. They are also accompanied by lovely pencil drawings on each page. The book itself lacks a cohesive structure and tells very little of Suu Kyi herself, but as I mentioned in the beginning, it is hard to read it without the shadow of recent events.
Aung San Suu Kyi's collection of articles "Letters from Burma" was my choice for this month's Nobel Laureate read. She won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. Since Suu Kyi's release from house arrest, and the return of her political party to power in 2016, there has been increasing violence, and human rights abuses of the Rohingya Muslims in Western Burma.
And Aung San Suu Kyi is silent. The woman whose work has been called "unflagging" in her efforts for peace and conciliation (by Nobel committee) has stood by as people are murdered.
Habiburahman and Sophie Ansel state in FIRST, THEY ERASED OUR NAMES: A Rohingya Speaks "She had the power to save lives. She was free and the world was listening... But Aung San Suu Kui chose power."
This from the same person who states in her 1996 letters "Not only should one speak only the truth, one's speech should lead to HARMONY AMONG BEINGS, it should be like and pleasant as it should be beneficial." (Emphasis is mine...) And goes on in several essays to speak of her devotion to the Buddha and the Noble Eightfold Path, lovingkindess, and humanitarian efforts.
It is senseless violence and genocide causing ripple effects in the entire region, and 'The Lady' could have stopped the genocide decades ago. How is that lovingkindness?
Suu Kyi's Letters shed light on Burmese customs, festivals, her political party, her own life in house arrest, and her devotion to Buddhist teachers and philosophy. They are also accompanied by lovely pencil drawings on each page. The book itself lacks a cohesive structure and tells very little of Suu Kyi herself, but as I mentioned in the beginning, it is hard to read it without the shadow of recent events.
elenasquareeyes's review against another edition
3.0
A collection of letters from the Nobel Peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, about her experience as a political prisoner, her countries traditions and the affects of inflation and corruption on its people.
The letters span about a year after her release from house arrest in 1995. Some are reflective on her experiences of being a political dissident and that of those of various other members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), while others are about the broader affects of being a political prisoner. How it can seriously affect children who only get to see a parent for 15 minutes every fortnight, or how the interrogations and solitary confinement can have mental and physical repercussions.
Each of the fifty-two letters are accompanied by an illustration by Heinn Hter. These illustrations are simple yet beautiful and help paint a vivid picture of the people and the country that Aung San Suu Kyi talks about in each of her letters.
The way Aung San Suu Kyi describes her country, its traditions and its people, is often quite poignant. Her writing is simple yet affecting and the way she can go from describing the beautiful and joyful moments, to the harsher reality that people live in when their wages can’t afford food and they must buy petrol on the black market.
I knew very little about Aung San Suu Kyi before reading this book, only that since she was no longer a political prisoner, she and her party didn’t necessarily live up to people’s expectations and there are some controversies surrounding them. As these letters are from the mid-90s, there’s still a lot of hope and belief in what the future can bring. In this moment of time at least, Aung San Suu Kyi is an eloquent and confident public speaker who doesn’t let the system stand in her way. Multiple times her street is barricaded for differing amounts of time, sometimes the soldiers let people pass to go to her house, sometimes they don’t, and sometimes they allow her to leave, when others they don’t. There’s no real reasoning behind it and it’s one of the many odd things that has become a part of her life.
Letters from Burma paints Myanmar to be a beautiful country, but one with a difficult future ahead. The way these letters are a combination of discussions of big political and social upheaval in the country, along with really mundane things like Aung San Suu Kyi being concerned with her home’s leaky roof; makes her seem like a down to earth and also very smart.
Letters from Burma is charming though perhaps a little idealistic. While Aung San Suu Kyi may have had the best intentions in the 1990s, it doesn’t necessarily mean that everything went as planned. I’m interested in reading more about Myanmar’s history and what Aung San Suu Kyi has done in the years since her release from house arrest. Still, I think Letters from Burma is a good place to get an overview of what the country was like in the mid-1990s and before.
The letters span about a year after her release from house arrest in 1995. Some are reflective on her experiences of being a political dissident and that of those of various other members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), while others are about the broader affects of being a political prisoner. How it can seriously affect children who only get to see a parent for 15 minutes every fortnight, or how the interrogations and solitary confinement can have mental and physical repercussions.
Each of the fifty-two letters are accompanied by an illustration by Heinn Hter. These illustrations are simple yet beautiful and help paint a vivid picture of the people and the country that Aung San Suu Kyi talks about in each of her letters.
The way Aung San Suu Kyi describes her country, its traditions and its people, is often quite poignant. Her writing is simple yet affecting and the way she can go from describing the beautiful and joyful moments, to the harsher reality that people live in when their wages can’t afford food and they must buy petrol on the black market.
I knew very little about Aung San Suu Kyi before reading this book, only that since she was no longer a political prisoner, she and her party didn’t necessarily live up to people’s expectations and there are some controversies surrounding them. As these letters are from the mid-90s, there’s still a lot of hope and belief in what the future can bring. In this moment of time at least, Aung San Suu Kyi is an eloquent and confident public speaker who doesn’t let the system stand in her way. Multiple times her street is barricaded for differing amounts of time, sometimes the soldiers let people pass to go to her house, sometimes they don’t, and sometimes they allow her to leave, when others they don’t. There’s no real reasoning behind it and it’s one of the many odd things that has become a part of her life.
Letters from Burma paints Myanmar to be a beautiful country, but one with a difficult future ahead. The way these letters are a combination of discussions of big political and social upheaval in the country, along with really mundane things like Aung San Suu Kyi being concerned with her home’s leaky roof; makes her seem like a down to earth and also very smart.
Letters from Burma is charming though perhaps a little idealistic. While Aung San Suu Kyi may have had the best intentions in the 1990s, it doesn’t necessarily mean that everything went as planned. I’m interested in reading more about Myanmar’s history and what Aung San Suu Kyi has done in the years since her release from house arrest. Still, I think Letters from Burma is a good place to get an overview of what the country was like in the mid-1990s and before.
halfmanhalfbook's review against another edition
2.0
In 1991, Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She was awarded this for being a steadfast peaceful resistance to the draconian, petty and brutal Myanmar regime. She was under house arrest for 21 years as the leader of the National Defence League. She took all of the threats, disruption and harassment from the and look it back in the face with a wry smile and unlimited courage. She would have her friends and colleagues arrested regularly, her road was frequently blocked, especially if she had been planning to hold a meeting or gathering.
All of these overt and covert attacks would have ground most people down, but she bore it with good grace and resilience. She was sustained by her drive to see the country she loves, one day gain a functioning democracy. In these fifty-two letters, she discusses the problems that they have as a country, describes the plight of those that have suffered at the hands of the regime and the repression of the population. It is also full of minutia, she talks about the weather, taking tea and the festivals that were still permitted.
In some ways I liked this, she speaks with a strong voice and brings to life the country that very few have seen from outside. All the way through she has a very clear aim of bringing urgent and necessary change to the country change all the time she was in custody, an aim that the authorities to every opportunity to frustrate. She was released in 2010 and won the election in 2015. She has not been able to hold the presidency because she is the widow and mother of foreigners – provisions from the constitution that seem to have been written specifically to prevent her from being eligible. She was awarded the position of State Counsellor and wields power from there. She has faced criticism in the past couple of years as she has seemingly deliberately ignored the plight of the Rohingya people and the genocide that they are suffering. It tarnishes what is a good book and until that point a life that should have been celebrated.
All of these overt and covert attacks would have ground most people down, but she bore it with good grace and resilience. She was sustained by her drive to see the country she loves, one day gain a functioning democracy. In these fifty-two letters, she discusses the problems that they have as a country, describes the plight of those that have suffered at the hands of the regime and the repression of the population. It is also full of minutia, she talks about the weather, taking tea and the festivals that were still permitted.
In some ways I liked this, she speaks with a strong voice and brings to life the country that very few have seen from outside. All the way through she has a very clear aim of bringing urgent and necessary change to the country change all the time she was in custody, an aim that the authorities to every opportunity to frustrate. She was released in 2010 and won the election in 2015. She has not been able to hold the presidency because she is the widow and mother of foreigners – provisions from the constitution that seem to have been written specifically to prevent her from being eligible. She was awarded the position of State Counsellor and wields power from there. She has faced criticism in the past couple of years as she has seemingly deliberately ignored the plight of the Rohingya people and the genocide that they are suffering. It tarnishes what is a good book and until that point a life that should have been celebrated.
wolvereader's review
4.0
Letters from Burma is a charming look at the beauty of Burma and the struggles for democracy in the wake of the ignored election results of 1990. Burmese politics have obviously moved on since then (and lately for the better), but it's a revealing insight into the times from the woman at the center of the maelstrom. Told as a series of short letters (in a later era, they would have been blog posts), the book starts out with vignettes describing Burmese customs and daily life. They are quite evocative and more than a little charming. As we hit the middle of the book, more and more of the struggles of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party enter the stories, and we culminate focusing entirely on the NLD's persecution.
This was an important book at the time it was published, and still carries lots of historical importance, but as Burma continues to stutter toward open democracy, hopefully this book will continue to work its way onto the history shelves and away from contemporary Burmese politics.
This was an important book at the time it was published, and still carries lots of historical importance, but as Burma continues to stutter toward open democracy, hopefully this book will continue to work its way onto the history shelves and away from contemporary Burmese politics.
likejennybutwithad's review
4.0
I love Aung San Suu Kyi's writing. It is interesting and easy to read. I loved the descriptions of local ceremonies and have had my eyes opened to the hardship she and ordinary Burmese people have suffered.
halfmanhalfbook's review
2.0
In 1991, Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She was awarded this for being a steadfast peaceful resistance to the draconian, petty and brutal Myanmar regime. She was under house arrest for 21 years as the leader of the National Defence League. She took all of the threats, disruption and harassment from the and look it back in the face with a wry smile and unlimited courage. She would have her friends and colleagues arrested regularly, her road was frequently blocked, especially if she had been planning to hold a meeting or gathering.
All of these overt and covert attacks would have ground most people down, but she bore it with good grace and resilience. She was sustained by her drive to see the country she loves, one day gain a functioning democracy. In these fifty-two letters, she discusses the problems that they have as a country, describes the plight of those that have suffered at the hands of the regime and the repression of the population. It is also full of minutia, she talks about the weather, taking tea and the festivals that were still permitted.
In some ways I liked this, she speaks with a strong voice and brings to life the country that very few have seen from outside. All the way through she has a very clear aim of bringing urgent and necessary change to the country change all the time she was in custody, an aim that the authorities to every opportunity to frustrate. She was released in 2010 and won the election in 2015. She has not been able to hold the presidency because she is the widow and mother of foreigners – provisions from the constitution that seem to have been written specifically to prevent her from being eligible. She was awarded the position of State Counsellor and wields power from there. She has faced criticism in the past couple of years as she has seemingly deliberately ignored the plight of the Rohingya people and the genocide that they are suffering. It tarnishes what is a good book and until that point a life that should have been celebrated.
All of these overt and covert attacks would have ground most people down, but she bore it with good grace and resilience. She was sustained by her drive to see the country she loves, one day gain a functioning democracy. In these fifty-two letters, she discusses the problems that they have as a country, describes the plight of those that have suffered at the hands of the regime and the repression of the population. It is also full of minutia, she talks about the weather, taking tea and the festivals that were still permitted.
In some ways I liked this, she speaks with a strong voice and brings to life the country that very few have seen from outside. All the way through she has a very clear aim of bringing urgent and necessary change to the country change all the time she was in custody, an aim that the authorities to every opportunity to frustrate. She was released in 2010 and won the election in 2015. She has not been able to hold the presidency because she is the widow and mother of foreigners – provisions from the constitution that seem to have been written specifically to prevent her from being eligible. She was awarded the position of State Counsellor and wields power from there. She has faced criticism in the past couple of years as she has seemingly deliberately ignored the plight of the Rohingya people and the genocide that they are suffering. It tarnishes what is a good book and until that point a life that should have been celebrated.
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