Group Read, August 2021: Burmese Days

Our August group read is Burmese Days by George Orwell. Please join in the read and post any comments on this thread.

I know I have a copy of this - somewhere!

Found my copy! I read the first 40 pages or so last night. It's interesting so far.

Posting to follow this thread as I read this book last year and would love to see other opinions.

I’m a few chapters in and honestly, his description of the racism is hard to take. I know that’s intentional but it’s so grotesque. His colonial Brits make Stowe’s slaveholders look subtle and thoughtful.

I’m also a few chapters in and it really is hard to stomach the prevailing racism. Is there really nothing else to ponder for the characters?

I'm half way through and finding this book incredibly painful. The chapter in which Flory's background and life are described was just awful -- a real indictment of Britain, and not just its Imperial side. It's interesting that the description of Elizabeth's background is just as terrible but a lot less sympathetic. I find Orwell's inability to present any female character as even faintly nuanced or decent a bit irritating. I know that Flory is supposed to be completely surrounded by insensitivity, corruption, and ignorance, but I still felt bad for Elizabeth, who is not allowed the depth that he is given, even in his failure.

>7 annamorphic: I finally finished and I agree - the only woman with some moral and nuance is probably U Po Kyin's wife and she doesn't really do anything about his shenegians.

It's a frustrating novel, and Flory is a frustrating character. Tragic and unable to get anything done, in the end doomed by his upbringing (the birthmark) but it is still hard to feel any sympathy for him. In a way he is the worst of all the English in the village. Ellis is a despicable bigot, but he stands by his convictions. Flory is no less a servant of the empire despite all his moral indignation, his interest in Burmese culture, and his feeling superior to everyone around him. Elizabeth might be superficial but so is he. He never listens to anything she says and only wants to marry his own idea of her.

my review from a couple of years ago is here

https://arukiyomi.com/?p=6449

I finally read this; only about 4 months too late. I have to say that I found this book difficult to put down once I started it. The ending is brutal (did anyone else gasp when Flory shot Flo?) but I think it would have taken a lot of courage to write it. I think Orwell saw the cracks in the British Empire and was forever changed by his experience. It gave me insight into how he came to write the classic 1984. It also reminded a lot of W. Somerset Maugham's books set in the British raj which I devoured when I was in my 20s.

I am sorry I missed this. It's been a while since I read it, but it was a favorite in college, where I read it alongside Kim, and then again for fun. Orwell considered it something of a failure, but I think it has some of his best analysis of British colonialism.