When Orwell published Burmese Days (that too with much difficulty) he was an unknown. This is a remarkable gem of book, overshadowed by his more popular works such as Animal Farm and 1984, that deserves a closer look. Early in his career, George Orwell was a policeman and served with the Imperial Police in Burma. He did not serve very long, but in those few short years Orwell managed to absorb everything he saw. This book is the product of those years and is Orwell's comment on British India; colonials & natives, their perceptions and prejudices about each other; the British club and its intrigues; the exploitation of the back-country and its people, both by colonials and local politicians. In the middle of all that commentary there is also a Jane Austenesque love story with reality thrown in at the end. Orwell holds nothing back in his critical examination and delineation of his characters. One mark of great fiction is how quickly you can relate to each character within a few paragraphs and how alive they remain in your memory: the conniving 'crocodile' of a Burmese magistrate - U Po Khin; the educated but ultimately servile Indian surgeon - Veeraswami; Ellis - the racist argumentative member of the club; the obnoxious cad - Veerall, who thinks of nothing other than polo and horses; and the hero of the novel - Flory who is forever battling his demons.

(More at http://fromhelicon.blogspot.com/2006/06/burmese-days.html)