Kroch Asia DS527.7 .L37 2005

This is a powerful, well-written book that will open eyes - especially for anyone not familiar with what is happening in Myanmar today. The present regime is killing the soul of the country, bit by bit, despite much propaganda that insists otherwise. Yes, new and refurbished hotels look swell and whirlwind tours have become expert at whisking visitors past the glorious sites at mind-numbing speed, but if you are smart enough to venture off the beaten track just a little, as Ms Larkin does, you will learn much. Larkin shows how Yangon and other cities have been reduced to "memory" (ghost of their former selves) and "meaning" (if you care to ferret out the "real" state of affairs in the country). Larkin does a wonderful job of interviewing a broad range of citizens to lend a personal, emotionally-gripping view of what could easily be intellectualized and safely kept at a distance while reading this book in a room, in a house, in a country far, far away. She also does a bang up job of connecting the dots between Orwell's life, his writings and the country that became so deeply imprinted upon him. Having said all this, do I have any gripes? Yes. First, Larkin occasionally comes up with odd descriptions that seem to reveal more about herself than her subject. A group of men huddled in a tea house are described as "girlish and secretive." ?? Second, while railing against a regime which censors whatever is politically inexpedient, since commits the same sin herself. She is a journalist in Asia and soft pedals the Burmese-Chinese tensions (lest she offend those with whom she does business should her cover be blown?) Yes, those mansions in Maymyo are often owned by the military elite and drug lords (as she says), but many are also owned by Chinese who are given preferential treatment due to their business investments while local Burmese are forced out of the way to make room for these invaders. The tension cannot be missed; it is palpable. Also, likely out of fear of alienating other powerful entities which can make life nice or nasty for her, she deliberately "misses" every opportunity to draw parallels between policies and practices of Myanmar's oppressive regime with similar policies and practices which have crept into what is supposed to be the model democracy in the world, the Shangrila with a system so craved by the Burmese people (Myanmar government officials censor every written article and news broadcast while pretending this doesn't happen; the Bush administration blacklists any journalist who asks "difficult" questions - denying that journalist access to future press conferences, etc - so that all journalists impose strict, self-censorship while pretending that this doesn't happen). Drawing such parallels would force the reader not to simply see this as a tale of what can happen elsewhere under extreme circumstances, but, ironically, what can happen even under his nose, under "ideal" circumstances. And that would add an important message to this worthy project, one summed up by the exhortatory words of a citizen quoted in the book: "We Burmese are experts at looking for what is not there. It's something you should learn to do, too."

Finding George Orwell in Burma takes a unique approach to both travel and foreign reporting. First, the travels through the country follow George Orwell's stations when he was an imperial police officer in the country (experiences that led to his first novel, Burmese Days). But Orwell serves as a focus in another way. The author tries to take us inside the rampant government paranoia and repressiveness, comparing the country's current state directly to Orwell's 1984. I read the book roughly a month before the recent protests in Burma and it made me fully aware of just how brave the Buddhist monks were in taking the forefront in peaceful resistance to a horrible regime.

Originally posted at http://prairieprogressive.com/2007/10...

...to think about:

"To the future of to the past, to a time when thought is free, when men are different from one another and do not live alone -- to a time when truth exists and what is done cannot be undone." (George Orwell, as quoted on p 135)

"Orwell realizes that this nameless victim is a living human being just like himself: 'He and we were a party of men walking together, seeing, hearing, feeling, understanding, the same world; and in two minutes, with a sudden snap, one of us would be gone -- one mind less, one world less." (Larkin p 277) ( )

Journalist and Orwell expert Emma Larkin goes to Burma (now known as Myanmar) to learn about George Orwell's brief stint as a British colonial policeman. Although the book considers how Orwell's police career influenced the writing of 1984, it's really about the amazing resiliency and spirit of Burmese people living under one of the world's most brutal and oppressive governments. Every word is perfectly chosen and every person, building and jungle Larkin visits emerges vividly from the pages. This is one book I'm not selling back to the used book store. ( )