Burma Sahib
Burma Sahib by Paul Theroux, published by Penguin Books in 2024, is a fictional exploration of George Orwell’s formative years in Burma. This edition spans 390 pages and is presented in English. The narrative follows Eric Blair, a young policeman in 1920s Mandalay, as he navigates the complexities of colonial life, ultimately shaping his identity as the writer known as George Orwell. Through this atmospheric tale, Theroux delves into the social and racial dynamics of the time, illustrating the profound impact of these experiences on Blair’s development.
Readers will find a richly woven account that captures the essence of a young man’s transformation amid the backdrop of a decaying colonial system. The story highlights the class conflicts and cultural heritage of the era, providing insight into the realities faced by Blair and his colleagues. As Theroux brings to life the nuances of Orwell’s journey, he invites readers to reflect on the broader implications of identity and societal structures during a pivotal moment in history.
Official synopsis Publisher
From renowned author Paul Theroux comes the fascinating, atmospheric tale of George Orwell’s years in Burma
There is a short period in everyone’s life when his character is fixed forever . . . ‘ George Orwell
Before George Orwell was Orwell – the pen name he took on becoming a writer – he was Eric Blair, an unlikely policeman in Burma. 19 years old, unusually tall, highly intelligent, a diffident loner fresh from Eton, Blair stood out amongst his fellow trainees in 1920s Mandalay.
It was here, over five years in the narrow colonial world of the Raj – a decaying system steeped in overt racism and petty class-conflict – that Eric Blair became the George Orwell we know: an anti-imperialist, a socialist and a writer of rare commitment.
The inner journey he made in these years is remarkable, but in the absence of letters or diaries from the period, this richly complex transformation can only be told in fiction, as it is here by Paul Theroux, in one of his most striking and accomplished novels.
Drawing on all his powers of observation and imagination, Theroux brings Orwell’s Burma years to radiant life, tracing the development of the young man’s consciousness as he confronts both the social, racial and class politics of his colonial colleagues, and the reality of the Burma beyond, which he yearns to grasp.
Through one writer, we come to understand another – and to see how what Orwell called ‘five boring years within the sound of bugles’ were in fact the years that made him.
‘Always a terrific teller of tales and conjurer of exotic locales’ Sunday Times
‘The most gifted, most prodigal writer of his generation’ Jonathan Raban
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