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Burmese Days

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Burmese Days

By: George Orwell
Narrated by: Allan Corduner
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About this listen

An unabridged recording of Orwell's brilliant first novel read by Allan Corduner. The story is largely based on Orwell's own experiences as a police officer in Burma. Set in the dying days of the Raj, it depicts the harshness and darker side of colonial rule. And at its centre is John Flory, a lone individual hopelessly trapped in a vast political system; themes which set the agenda for much of his writing. Burmese Days was Orwell's first novel, and was issued in 1934 in America, then a year later in the UK where there had been fears and controversy initially that the material could be libellous.

©2012 Canongate Books (P)2012 Canongate Books Classics Thought-Provoking Inspiring

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All stars
Most relevant  
Great performance by the reader

Plus Orwell is without a doubt a master, great story

Great performance by the reader

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Listen to it before the sensitivity readers get hold of it and undermine the whole premise of the book. Some of the language is deeply shocking to modern ears but it’s essential context and paints a picture. Hugely evocative story-telling and narration. Have read or listened to all of Orwell now and I think this one is my favourite.

Great story, beautifully read

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The plot is filled with clichés and twists that have a little more to be desired of.
The depiction of ambient, interactions and social structure is where the books true value lie.

Well narated however its portrail of "natives" might be off-putting at times.

Content < Context

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The book takes a while to get into, maybe a couple hours, but the intrigue builds and by the last few hours it was riveting

Particular interesting for those people who have experience of South Asia and / or interest. The book is a critique on colonial days by focusing on individual stories of different characters but it’s more than that - there is love, adventure, drama and mystery mixed together with the historical perspectives

Overall, well worth listening to

A deep dive into human side of colonialism

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There are some great reviews of this novel and all I can add is that I am annoyed with myself for waiting so long to read this brilliant account of ugly Brits behaving badly in the dying days of the Raj. The 'woke' brigade will hate it for the obvious reasons but, boy does it pack a punch as it holds a mirror up to the attitudes and actions of hideous expats in Burma. There are also some wonderful local characters and the book teems with the richness and rancour of life in the east. The reader is excellent and I would love to see this on a streaming service but I don't believe any producers would have the stomach for it. A fabulously grotesque novel.

Brutally Brilliant

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Remaniscent of a Passage to India, but with the writer's experience of working in Burma for a number of years.

a Passage to India

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I've read quite a few Orwell books and this is the first that combined exposure of unfairness of a society with humour. It reminded me of some of Graham Green's novels. The main character, John Flory, is a jaded timber merchant living a lonely and dissolute life, yet one feels sympathy for him. He has some humanity compared with the racism and bigotry of many of the other characters. One winces at the repeated is of the word nigger to describe anybody who isn't white. Flory's love life plays a big part in the book and provides some of the humour and pathos of the story.

The author had first hand experience of working in Burma and evokes the insular world of people enforcing British Rule and their assumption of superiority over the natives. Flory does recognize the merits of the country and its people, but his attempts to convince others fall on death ears. The oppressive effect of the climate add to the atmosphere of how alien it is for Europeans to be in charge of native people who are well-adapted to living in their country. A rather shameful era of British history,

The narrator brigns characters to life with a range of different accents and voices.

Enjoyable satire of colonial life

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Took a while to get into but then found myself absorbed in the characters. not an exciting listen but easy to follow

not bad

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The most striking feature of Burmese Days is the insight Orwell gives into the Imperial attitudes of the British colonial overseers, excellently performed by Allan Corduner who brings to life the very personification of the harshest stereotypes of British Imperialism.
Perhaps it is no stereotype as the book serves as a memoir of Orwell's experience in the Burmese police force.
Orwell's memories do not paint a pretty picture, nor is the overall story any kind of romance nor epic, however, it nonetheless provides an insightful panorama of real life experience of imperial life in a much neglected corner of the British empire.
Orwell's narrative can seem disjointed and difficult to follow at times, however, the performance of Allan Corduner makes it easier to persist when simple immersion into the text could overwhelm.
On the whole a decent part of the Orwell canon of literature and particularly recommendable to those who enjoy memoirs or panoramas of real life.

Interesting panorama of British Imperialism

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The reader was brilliant. He made it very real and brought it to life.
Be warned the book contains old fashioned racial slurs but once you understand that bigotry was normal unfortunately in colonial times you can enjoy the interesting story.
very good!

enjoyed it

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