Quartered Safe Out Here

A Recollection of the War in Burma

By: George MacDonald Fraser

Narrated by: David Case

Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

George MacDonald Fraser beloved for his series of Flashman historical novels offers an action-packed memoir of his experiences in Burma during World War II. Fraser was only 19 when he arrived there in the wars final year, and he offers a first-hand glimpse at the camaraderie, danger, and satisfactions of service. A substantial Epilogue, occasioned by the 50th anniversary of VJ-Day in 1995, adds poignancy to a volume that eminent military historian John Keegan described as one of the great personal memoirs of the Second World War.

©2007 George MacDonald Fraser (P)2010 Random House

Good read

I found this book to be captivating, and a different look at less talked about aspects of WWII. a really good read.

an amazing story & something amazing to end on

It was awesome to he his side of the war after reading Flashman... quite the ending...

Great book, flawed audio file

This was transferred from version for cassette, there's a missing segment before he announces 'cassette 3, side 1'. The gap covers 20 pages in my printed copy, 47 to 67.

Little Known Pacific Campaign

George McDonald Fraser is at his best recounting his own experience with war in the brutal Burma campaign in WWII. What a fabulous tale of private soldiers. David Case’s narration is superb-Cumbrian accents, posh accents and Indian accents are no challenge to him. Both author and narrator excel in the encounter with Captain Grief. Highly recommended

Must Listen!

EXCELLENT story with OUTSTANDING narration! Mr. Case utilized a wide array of accents, which served to enrich the manuscript beyond expectations!

Absorbing

When I was looking for some sailing stories of the Napoleonic era, I came across the Flashman books. I noted the author, George MacDonald Fraser (1925-2008), had written his memoir about World War II. I decided to get the book.

The book deals with his time in Burma. He served with a platoon of British Soldiers from Cumberland. He used their accent in the book. The Cumberland Dialect is unlike modern English but Fraser provided a translation and glossary to help the reader.
The book is well written. Fraser covers what it was like to be a British soldier in Burma from the boredom of waiting to the horrors of the close quarter jungle fighting. He also provided a brief history of the war in Burma. He was a young man and this was before he became a writer, but his talent comes through as does his superb storytelling ability. After reading this book the reader has a good idea what it was like to fight in the jungle.

The book is eight hours long. David Case (1932-2005) did an excellent job narrating the book. He did great with the Cumberland accent and gently interpreting for the reader. Case was an English actor and multi-award-winning audiobook narrator. Case was the narrator of the Flashman Series. He was one of the pioneering narrators of audiobooks and had a great British accent and voice.

Fantastic story bolstered by a superb performance.

Mr. Fraser's narrative of his time in the British Army during the Burma campaign of WWII successfully framed the wartime for the rank and file soldier. The reader is brought into the relationships he had with his fellow brothers in arms, his leaders, and the demands on the mind and body that accompany such extraordinary circumstances. Mr. Case enhances the listener's experience by associating the nuances of British language and culture described by the author in a way that makes the characters unique and matches the tempo of his speech to the events unfolding in the storyline. I found myself being drawn into the performance and into the mind of the author.

The Narrator Makes This Performance Memorable

Any additional comments?

Fraser is an author who deserves your attention. This is one of the best WW2 diary accounts I've read or listened to. Written 40 years after the events he writes about, Fraser is honest, balanced and humorous at appropriate times. He carries you into the Burmese fighting along with his 14th Army section and informs you about his thoughts and motivations while providing rationale sharpened by nearly 40 years of honest introspection. This one deserves to be in your Audible bookshelf whether or not you are interested in the amazing history of the 20th Century's defining conflict. And the narrator makes this come alive with his varied accents & verbal virtuosity. Two thumbs way up.

Burma campaign memoir

Narration is a little hard to follow because of the unusual dialects.

Sardonic remembrances are interesting and provocative.

Accents

GMF is one of my all time favourites, but I am not sure about the reader. GMF was Anglo-Scottish so why have a very upper class English drawl for the reading? Especially as he has to do the Cumbrian voices, which are so much of the magic of the book. I'm not sure if they are authentic,not being a Cumbrian but frequently they end up sounding like North country Daleks, which I suspect is not quite right!

But get past this, and the book itself is a wonder - Frasers unsentimental vivid ability to put you in the events with him is extraordinary, as is his ability to evoke characters and make the reader empathise with his pride in his comrades. And then there are the desperately moving or very funny set pieces - the scenes where the section share out the kit of a comrade killed in action, the looting of the air drop, and best of all GMF's speculating about what the section would have done if they'd been given the option of dropping the bomb or not, which truly raises the hairs on the back of your neck. And most of all the dialogue.

It pains me as a Flashman fan to say this, but this is the best GMF ever did.