Days in Burma. To Breathe Air

Days in Burma is an honest and expressive first novel by Orwell, published in 1934, which sparked heated debates due to its depiction of colonial society, ineradicable corruption, and imperial fanaticism. A group of Englishmen, members of a European club, are united in their sense of superiority over the Burmese, but each of them is profoundly lonely and heavily suppresses the longing for home through excessive whiskey consumption. John Flory, a timber trader, holds different views: he believes that the Burmese and their culture are unique and should be valued as beautiful and worthy things. Flory further undermines faith in British omnipotence through his friendship with Dr. Veraswami, a potential candidate for membership in the European club. In turn, Veraswami is under the close scrutiny of the unscrupulous local judge U Po Kyin, who is willing to do anything for power... Flory's inner conflict is complicated by the sudden arrival in Burma of a young Englishwoman, Elizabeth. Will he find the strength to act according to his conscience and be happy with the woman he loves? England on the eve of World War II, the main character of the novel To Breathe Air, George Bowling, nicknamed Gubbins, wins £17 on the races and decides to return to his hometown of Binfield to escape the mundanity of his life, engage in his only passion—fishing, and indulge in memories of the past. But everything in the village has changed for the worse, George's idyllic dreams are shattered, the England from his memories is gone forever. This novel was published in 1939, is considered the most accomplished of Orwell's early works, and addresses themes of memory, nostalgia, disappointment, and fear in the face of the woes of modernity—industrialization, capitalist exploitation, and war.