Burmese Days

A Novel

By: George Orwell

Narrated by: Frederick Davidson

Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

Colonial politics in Kyauktada, India, in the 1920s, come to a head when the European Club, previously for whites only, is ordered to elect one token native member. The deeply racist members do their best to manipulate the situation, resulting in the loss not only of reputations but of lives.

Amid this cynical setting, timber merchant James Flory, a Brit with a genuine appreciation for the native people and culture, stands as a bridge between the warring factions. But he has trouble acting on his feelings, and the significance of his vote, both social and political, weighs on him. When Elizabeth Lackersteen arrives - blonde, eligible, and anti-intellectual - Flory finds himself the hapless suitor.

Orwell alternates between grand-scale political intrigue and nuanced social interaction, mining his own Colonial Indian heritage to create a monument of historical fiction.

George Orwell (1903–1950), the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair, was an English novelist, essayist, and critic. He was born in India and educated at Eton. After service with the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, he returned to Europe to earn his living by writing and became notable for his simplicity of style and his journalistic or documentary approach to fiction.

©1934 George Orwell (P)1992 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A well integrated, fast-moving story of what life was like in a remote backcountry Asiatic station.” (Chicago Tribune)

Amazing narrator.

It’s a story of the end of the British colonial days in Burma, with the white skinned overlords ruling over the dark skinned native savages. Meanwhile the protagonist is trying to get a woman to marry him. I enjoyed it, thanks to the amazing narrator...

Orwell's first novel, published nearly 90 years ag

To this day, Burma (Myanmar) has never known peace. Many of the British despised them, not training them to run an independent country. Orwell captures this extremely well in his early 1930's depiction of life in an out-the-away upcountry station in Burma that then was a part of India. The novel at times is repetitive and could have used a good editing, which probably was not available to an unknown author during the depression. The audiobook is enhanced by a fine narration Fredrick Davidson.

It is a good book, not a masterpiece

"Burmese days" is more reminiscent of Somerset Maugham than of Orwell, I think.

The pitiless dissection of the characters, of their ways and the vacuous reason which sets the plot in motion are what makes this book well worth listening to. The reference to Burma is almost incidental.

I was not overjoyed with the performance but possibly it is just me finding the voice of the narrator irksome.

Orwell's story and the narration

Better than Paul Theroux's Burma Sahib which lifted a lot from Orwell's modestly (at the time) received novel based on his experiences in Burma.

dramatic funny and real

Orwells magnum opus of the glory of the britisj raj at its height. joy and pain.

Brilliant.

Why bother reading reviews of such an important book in an open forum like this?

Poetic and well written

The author writes a believable story where you at times hope things turn out well for a character and then are reminded that these are flawed people who don't necessarily merit happy endings.

A Sad, Fierce and Ambitious Colonial Novel

A sad, fierce and ambitious novel about the emptiness and loneliness of the waning days of the British Empire. It shows the ugliness and corruption of British class-based social structure, cultural bigotry and the harsh individual fantasies that are needed to keep the whole system afloat. It shows the future potential of Orwell, but lacks the restrained grace of his later novels. There are, however, definite glitters and shadows of both E.M. Forster and Joseph Conrad throughout. It is worth the listen for those interested in early Orwell or the decline of the post-WWI British Empire.

it's..... different

the narrator changes his voice for all the characters. Even the dry stuff sounded interesting.

Enjoyed the book, but probably won't recommend it

I enjoyed comparing Orwell's first book to his later works and seeing the influence from Huxley and his time in Burma, though there were were frequent, albeit slight, background noises.