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donnaadouglas's review against another edition
5.0
George Orwell was so ahead of his time, and Burmese Days, in my opinion, surpasses my love for 1984 and Animal Farm (and I loved both of those as well!)
The book tells of John Flory, a man who has lived in Burma (now Myanmar) for 15 years, who respects the country and its culture, but who struggles with the balance of fitting in with locals vs fitting in with the other English (all living a colonial ex-pat existence and sharing very little of Flory’s world view). Flory is by no means perfect, he seeks acceptance from others, and often behaves horribly in order not to rock the boat (his treatment of his Indian friend, Dr Veraswami, for instance), and whilst championing the cause of befriending ‘natives’, his own white supremacy filters through (his treatment of his Burmese mistress, for example).
Enter Elizabeth Lackersteen, a 22 year old, beautiful new arrival to the area. She arrives at the height of Flory’s idealist wish for someone to understand him, and the two spend the remainder of the novel failing to understand one another, whilst their incompatibility is obvious to the reader, and this ultimately leads to the tragic climax of the novel.
And then there’s U Po Kyin, a Burmese town magistrate whose machinations and plotting drive a lot of the action in the novel. Indeed, he is the first character we meet and his motivations set up the book from the start. His motivation being social climbing. He wants to disgrace another ‘native’ - Dr Veraswami - in order to raise his own position (to be the most favoured ‘native’ in town). It’s all complete pandering to the English, seen to be the highest on the social strata. Would this social climbing exist without the English though? Most likely. U Po Kyin is clearly not a nice chap, and clearly is an egocentric social climber. I’ve thought a lot about Orwell’s socialist beliefs and I wonder if U Po Kyin further drives the view that raising anyone (regardless of ethnicity) above another is completely wrong, and leads humans to behave despicably. No one should aspire to look down at anyone else.
I loved that this novel was so real, and is still so relevant today. Racism still exists. The colonialist attitude still exists (don’t talk to me about Brexsh*t!). Social climbing still exists. People still fail to communicate well what they want in a relationship. People still struggle with their sense of self and trying to fit in.
Parts of this novel are hard to read, and make me feel so ashamed of Britain’s colonial history, but this is why books like this need to be read. We need to confront this and use our feelings of shame to move past this and create a better future for all through equality. One has to wonder if that may even have been Orwell’s purpose with this book. Told you - ahead of his time!
The book tells of John Flory, a man who has lived in Burma (now Myanmar) for 15 years, who respects the country and its culture, but who struggles with the balance of fitting in with locals vs fitting in with the other English (all living a colonial ex-pat existence and sharing very little of Flory’s world view). Flory is by no means perfect, he seeks acceptance from others, and often behaves horribly in order not to rock the boat (his treatment of his Indian friend, Dr Veraswami, for instance), and whilst championing the cause of befriending ‘natives’, his own white supremacy filters through (his treatment of his Burmese mistress, for example).
Enter Elizabeth Lackersteen, a 22 year old, beautiful new arrival to the area. She arrives at the height of Flory’s idealist wish for someone to understand him, and the two spend the remainder of the novel failing to understand one another, whilst their incompatibility is obvious to the reader, and this ultimately leads to the tragic climax of the novel.
And then there’s U Po Kyin, a Burmese town magistrate whose machinations and plotting drive a lot of the action in the novel. Indeed, he is the first character we meet and his motivations set up the book from the start. His motivation being social climbing. He wants to disgrace another ‘native’ - Dr Veraswami - in order to raise his own position (to be the most favoured ‘native’ in town). It’s all complete pandering to the English, seen to be the highest on the social strata. Would this social climbing exist without the English though? Most likely. U Po Kyin is clearly not a nice chap, and clearly is an egocentric social climber. I’ve thought a lot about Orwell’s socialist beliefs and I wonder if U Po Kyin further drives the view that raising anyone (regardless of ethnicity) above another is completely wrong, and leads humans to behave despicably. No one should aspire to look down at anyone else.
I loved that this novel was so real, and is still so relevant today. Racism still exists. The colonialist attitude still exists (don’t talk to me about Brexsh*t!). Social climbing still exists. People still fail to communicate well what they want in a relationship. People still struggle with their sense of self and trying to fit in.
Parts of this novel are hard to read, and make me feel so ashamed of Britain’s colonial history, but this is why books like this need to be read. We need to confront this and use our feelings of shame to move past this and create a better future for all through equality. One has to wonder if that may even have been Orwell’s purpose with this book. Told you - ahead of his time!
katieahalliday's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
carlottaione's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
i have no idea how to feel about this book and i honestly don't really know what to rate it. i think that it offers a disturbingly realistic portrayal of empire and the sinister ways in which imperialism eats away at everyone, corrupting every single person involved. none of the characters are even remotely likable, except for dr. veraswarmi, and it makes the book incredibly uncomfortable to read (amongst other things). orwell does not pull punches with this book -- utter brutality is mentioned in such a blasé manner, highlighting the dehumanizing impact of colonialism and capitalism. however, i also think that this book walks such a fine line between critique and outright racism that it is sometimes difficult to tell when orwell is critiquing the characters versus when he is simply writing characters in a racist way. so many of the asian characters and female characters are written so one-dimensionally and stereotypically, one is unsure if the decision was purposeful or as a result of orwell's biases. anyway, this is definitely an interesting read and generates lots of discussion and food for thought.
pinkballoon100's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lelandbuck's review against another edition
5.0
A scathing condemnation of Anglo-colonial mindset like only Orwell could deliver.
bookman39582's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
morgcxn's review against another edition
medium-paced
2.0
Wtf was that ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs
Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape
Minor: Animal death, Suicide, and Animal cruelty
rc90041's review against another edition
4.0
There are flashes of searing brilliance here: the descriptions of a dying leopard, of a native Burmese dance shocking to English sensibilities, the absurd, comic corpulence of the cartoonishly evil U Po Kyin, the dogs gnawing at amputated limbs at the squalid local hospital. The story is pure melodrama. The characters are all cardboard caricatures. Yet, this is a book that will stay with you. Its primary value is as a historical artifact, a kind of fictionalized journal of Orwell's time in colonial Burma. It's also valuable as an early piece of Orwell's writing, and you can see early signs of his growing powers here, powers that would become fully realized some years later.
hhcharlesb's review against another edition
3.0
En los días de Birmania Orwell vertío lo que aprendió durante su estadía como policía imperial, habla del racismo, el orgullo, las apariencias y todo lo que hace a un britanico britanico en sus colonias, expone muy bien las estaciones, ambientes y recursos naturales, los personajes son un estereotipo de los colonizadores en las Indias y juega con lo que más les interesa.