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A review by yuzureads
Not Out of Hate: A Novel of Burma (Ohio RIS Southeast Asia Series Book 88) by William H. Frederick, Ma Ma Lay, Margaret Aung-Thwin
4.0
Set towards the end of British colonial rule and amidst the rise in nationalist sentiment in Burma, Not Out of Hate has widely been interpreted as a metaphor for attitudes towards British colonial rule; read this way, U Saw Han is the coloniser while Way Way becomes the stand-in for Burma. But during our discussion hosted by @literasea.bookclub on Instagram, we focused instead on presentations of love and culture, against the sociopolitical backdrop of colonial rule and nationalist resistance. It would be reductive to see Way Way and U Saw Han as purely stand-ins for two different cultures and countries. Beyond that, they are, along with the cast of characters in this book, (fictional) individuals who are grappling with different understandings of love and duty. To me, the style reminded me almost of an Austen novel — it’s very domestic, it grapples with the struggles of women and their place in the home in relation to their immediate society — more than a critique of the coloniser carrying the White Man’s Burden.
SEAsia might be very known for having been left behind in terms of development thanks to its colonial past, but to see it through only a post colonial lens is limiting and erases the region’s identity separate from its colonial past and trauma. It’s still a region rich in culture, with individuals going through everyday experiences that don’t necessarily have to involve foreign influence. This wasn’t the most exciting novel, but the details of lifestyle, culture, and cuisine are still familiar to me as a Burmese emigrant living more than 50 years after this story was published.
SEAsia might be very known for having been left behind in terms of development thanks to its colonial past, but to see it through only a post colonial lens is limiting and erases the region’s identity separate from its colonial past and trauma. It’s still a region rich in culture, with individuals going through everyday experiences that don’t necessarily have to involve foreign influence. This wasn’t the most exciting novel, but the details of lifestyle, culture, and cuisine are still familiar to me as a Burmese emigrant living more than 50 years after this story was published.