The book centers on her love affair with Maung, a charismatic Burmese Freedom fighter.
Much ado was made over her graphic descriptions of her sexual encounters, and while we are all "young, dumb, and full of c-" at one point in our l Given the rave reviews from many sources, and Connelly's reputation as a writer, I found this memoir altogether disappointing. In the background, Connelly writes about the struggles and suffering of the Burmese, which was why she was in Burma and Northern Thailand. Given the rave reviews from many sources, and Connelly's reputation as a writer, I found this memoir altogether disappointing. SPOILER ALERT: Although she was deeply in love with Maung and would have liked to marry him and bear his children, she realized that his struggle for democracy in Burma would forever supersede their relationship, and she could not do it.more So, this memoir is not only about Connelly's love for the Burma, now known as Myanmar, but also with Maung.
In spending time helping at a resistance camp in the jungle, the author was keenly aware of the contrasts between cultures and perspectives. When Connelly attended a Christmas party she met and began a complicated cross-continental relationship with Maung, a handsome and charismatic Burmese dissident and opposition leader. She also interviewed Aung San Suu Kyi, who was under house arrest at the time. While she was in Burma, she observed first-hand the tyrannical ruling military in a violent street demonstration by Buddhist monks in Rangoon. She also Having read Karen Connelly's novel "The Lizard Cage," which the author wrote after this compelling memoir "Burmese Lessons: A True Love Story," I better understand Connelly's background and qualifications for "The Lizard Cage." Sponsored by PEN Canada, Connelly went to Burma and Thailand in 1966 to get information on Burmese political prisoners. Having read Karen Connelly's novel "The Lizard Cage," which the author wrote after this compelling memoir "Burmese Lessons: A True Love Story," I better understand Connelly's background and qualifications for "The Lizard Cage." Sponsored by PEN Canada, Connelly went to Burma and Thailand in 1966 to get information on Burmese political prisoners. In radiant prose layered with passion, regret, sensuality and wry humor, Burmese Lessons tells the captivating story of how one woman came to love a wounded, beautiful country and a gifted man who has given his life to the struggle for political change.more Struggling to weigh the idealism of her convictions against the harsh realities of life on the border, Connelly transports the reader into a world as dangerous as it is enchanting. After visiting Maung’s military camp in the jungle, she faces an agonizing decision: Maung wants to marry Connelly and have a family with her, but if she marries this man she also weds his world and his lifelong cause.
When it gets too risky for her to stay, Connelly flies back to Thailand, but she cannot leave Burma behind.Ĭonnelly’s interest in the political turns more personal on the Thai-Burmese border, where she falls in love with Maung, the handsome and charismatic leader of one of Burma’s many resistance groups. Carefully seeking out the regime’s critics, she witnesses mass demonstrations, attends protests, interviews detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and flees from police.
She also encounters a country ruled by a brutal military dictatorship that imposes a code of censorship and terror.
When Karen Connelly goes to Burma in 1996 to gather information for a series of articles, she discovers a place of unexpected beauty and generosity. She also encounters a country ruled by a brutal military dictatorship that impo Orange Prize–winner Karen Connelly’s compelling memoir about her journey to Burma, where she fell in love with a leader of the Burmese rebel army. Orange Prize–winner Karen Connelly’s compelling memoir about her journey to Burma, where she fell in love with a leader of the Burmese rebel army.