Burmese Days (Paperback)

He had grasped the truth about the English and their Empire. The Indian Empire is a despotism—benevolent, no doubt, but still a despotism with theft as its final object.

Burmese Days is a novel set in the waning days of the British Empire, focusing on a handful of insular, small-minded Englishmen (including the fascinatingly complex and contradictory character of James Flory,) all living in a small settlement in Upper Burma, where they congregate in the European Club, drinking whiskey and arguing over an impending order to admit a token “native”, an emblematic depiction of the dying days of the Raj. It is George Orwell’s first novel and draws heavily on his experience in the Imperial Police in Burma, which instils the novel with a sense of resonance and depth, while also revealing the dark underbelly of British imperialism (published in 1934, first in the United States, then later in England where it was feared it would be considered libelous.)  The novel perfectly captures the suffocating insularity of the remote British outpost, and the stultifying atmosphere of “the club,” and its harsh portrayal of British colonial rule succeeds as great social commentary, showing the powerful pressure a system can exert on the isolated dissident. Burmese Days also succeeds as a great novel—fast-paced, with intrigue and adventure, with evocative descriptions of place, and dead-on observations of human behavior. Orwell himself said, "I wanted to write enormous naturalistic novels with unhappy endings, full of detailed descriptions and arresting similes…and in fact, Burmese Days is rather that kind of book.” Ed loved and highly recommends!