Just Finished Reading: Burmese Days by George Orwell (FP: 1934) [300pp] 

Flory knew what they thought of him. Even the little he showed caused them to call him a Communist or worse. If only they knew the real him, rather than his poor attempt to ‘fit in’ with those in charge of the settlement. If only they knew how much he despised them all for their narrowmindedness, their casual racism, their clear disdain for the very people they were here to ‘manage’. Part of him, a small part, felt sorry for them. He pitied the fact that they couldn’t see the beauty all around them in the mountains, the jungle and the people. They couldn’t see, or more likely wouldn’t see, the magical energy of the bustling marketplace, the awesome power of the monsoon rain or the simple pleasures of a blossoming flower of such vibrancy that it hurt to look at. All they could see, and constantly complain about, was the heat, the humidity, the lack of ice in their drinks and a thousand other things. The only thing Flory really needed was someone, anyone, to share his love of the land with. His friend, the Indian Dr Veraswami, helped but he needed more. He needed someone to share his love and, importantly, be his love. In answer to his prayers enter Elizabeth, straight from England (via Paris) who seemed to fit the bill. Still skittish, still unsure of herself, she had possibilities once she got over her fear of the local wildlife and her ignorant disgust of the local people. Flory would work on her, it would be fine, she would come around. Wouldn’t she? 

I didn’t realise that this was Orwell’s first novel. I actually picked it out of a pile of ‘read soon’ books because it was based in Burma (now Myanmar) so I could add that country to my ongoing fictional world tour. But it turns out that this is a good place to start and I’ll endeavour to read the other novels in publication order. Obviously drawing on his experiences as an Imperial police officer in Burma in the 1920’s, you could feel the rain and smell the markets as he described them. It was also pretty obvious throughout that Flory was a semi-autobiographical stand-in for Orwell himself and most especially his ‘outsider’ status. Unlike others in the novel, Flory could speak Burmese (like Orwell himself) and knew something about their culture. Flory’s simmering hatred of the Imperial endeavour (again matching Orwell’s) is clear throughout as is his disdain for the arrogance and racism of the other British members of the local community – a total of SEVEN including Flory – and their laughable focus on the rather seedy ‘Club’ that is both the focus of British life and seemingly the last bastion of British power where ‘natives’ can only serve drinks.  

The most disturbing part of the book, and something exhibited from the first page to the last, was the amount of casual racism (at best) and the borderline xenophobic almost psychotic racism (at worst) voiced by the majority of the British. Flory is practically the only exception and even the next most even-handed member of ‘The Club’ made comments that would, at best, raise some serious eyebrows today. When pushed even they baulked at the idea of having a ‘native’ member anywhere near the ‘sacred’ Club. Even Flory had his moments and it's very clear how far we’ve come with such things (thankfully) in the 90 years that followed this publication. This is the thing I struggled with most. I don’t think it ever went so far that I would’ve DNFd it, but I can see that some readers might. I think it was there for two reasons – firstly to show an accurate depiction of what it was like in that place/time, and second the contrast Flory’s attitude with the rest of his fellow countrymen.  

On learning that this was Orwell’s first novel I couldn’t help but be surprised. Despite not aging well (I could see it easily being banned in today’s more sensitive times) this was a very well written tome and one that has stayed with me in the several weeks since I finished it. I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from this iconic author and intend to read as much of his work as I can. Recommended with the above caveats about racism.