Another Must-Read

If you have not yet read George Orwell's Burmese Days, now is the time. It's a sad novel, to be sure, about the damage done to a culture and to many a human soul by colonialism. And a fellow Volunteer commented to me that Flory should be the vice-president of the Most Humiliated Protagonists Club.

But somehow, it's also a really enjoyable read. The best parts are the uniquely Southeast Asian details: the preciousness of ice during the hot season; the poor quality, physically and otherwise, of available books; the proudly kept long mole-hairs. Actually, maybe you should visit Cambodia before reading this book. I bet it makes the experience that much more vivid.