'This novel is one of his finest in a long and redoubtable oeuvre' William Boyd, New York Times

From renowned author Paul Theroux comes a fascinating, atmospheric novel inspired by George Orwell's years in Burma

There is a short period in everyone's life when his character is fixed forever . . . ' George Orwell

Eric Blair stood out amongst his fellow police trainees in 1920s Burma. Nineteen years old, unusually tall, a diffident loner fresh from Eton, after five years spent in the narrow colonial world of the Raj - a decaying system steeped in overt racism and petty class-conflict - he would emerge as the George Orwell we know.

Drawing on all his powers of observation and imagination, Paul Theroux brings Orwell's Burma years to radiant life, tracing the development of the young man's consciousness as he confronts the social, racial and class politics and the reality of Burma beyond. Through one writer, we come to understand another - and 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

About the Author
Paul Theroux has written many works of fiction and travel writing, including the modern classics The Great Railway Bazaar, The Old Patagonian Express, My Secret History and The Mosquito Coast. He won the Edward Stanford Award for Outstanding Contribution to Travel Writing 2020. Paul Theroux divides his time between Cape Cod and the Hawaiian islands.

Reviews
Remarkable . . . Theroux, of course, has a parallel reputation as one of our greatest travel writers, and the Burma that he conjures in these pages is wonderfully present in lush and dense prose -- William Boyd * New York Times *
[An] ambitious dramatization . . . With piercing prose, Theroux lays bare the fraudulent and fiercely despotic nature of the British Empire. This brims with intelligence and vigor * Publishers Weekly *
A vibrantly descriptive narrative * Washington Post *
Compelling. Theroux is always great with setting; here it's not just Burma but the mind of Orwell that he persuasively inhabits * Kirkus *
Theroux's engrossing, suspenseful novel incisively maps the start of Blair's metamorphosis into George Orwell, resounding critic of malevolent power * Booklist *
Captivating . . . An engrossing story . . . Theroux, the accomplished travel writer, skillfully maps the lay of the land and transports his reader to one vividly depicted Burmese location after another . . . At the same time, Theroux, the adept novelist, ensures his reader is invested in his protagonist's journey - both his professional arc and his emotional trajectory * Washington Examiner *
Theroux gives us something that Orwell couldn't: a sense of how current and relevant his concerns about imperialism remain from the viewpoint of the present . . . Theroux has woven a much bigger narrative around what we do know [about Orwell's time in Burma] and improvised imaginatively around the things we don't * Financial Times *
A thoughtful, fully rounded portrait of a young man coming of age in a baroque, baffling and completely fascinating place and time. At aged 82, Theroux is still a curious, thrawn, uncompromising traveller and writer. Young Eric Blair would have admired that * Sydney Morning Herald *



Book Information
ISBN 9780241633342
Author Paul Theroux
Format Hardback
Page Count 400
Imprint Hamish Hamilton Ltd
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 610g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 160mm * 34mm