Finding George Orwell in Burma

#543
Title: Finding George Orwell in Burma
Author: Emma Larkin
Publisher: Penguin
Year: 2006
204 pages

Larkin describes how his time in Burma influenced Orwell and contributed to his novels, most obviously Burmese Days but also Animal Farm and 1984. However, this is not her point. Rather, she reverses the equation to use Orwell's life and writings as an organizing principle for describing Burma/Myanmar. The pseudonymous journalist Larkin is essentially under cover as a tourist in order to evade detection by Burma's military government. The resulting book is part-literary criticism, part-travelogue, part-history. The tone of the narrative is engaging and the strands are generally interwoven effectively.

Having recently read a number of solo travelers' tales of wandering about in problematic territory, and having spent time as a woman traveling in other parts of Southeast Asia, I find noteworthy the absence of any comments about flirtation, sexual harassment, or even considerations of personal danger when traveling with unknown and sometimes-hostile men. This introduces the question of whether "Larkin" is indeed female.