Irrawaddy Tango [Paperback]

Wendy Law-Yone (Author), Amitav Ghosh (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 16, 2003

A novel of love, vengeance and political unrest in South East Asia

Irrawaddy Tango, a pepper-tongued, tango-dancing Asian beauty rises from a village girlhood to become the wife of her country's dictator and then a leader of the rebel forces arrayed against him. Tango captures the attention of an ambitious colonel --the self-proclaimed Supremo--while dancing at a talent contest. Once married, she is forced to endure the cruelties of a ruthless and foolish husband, is kidnapped by rebel forces, recaptured and brutally punished by her husband's military clique, and eventually exiled to America. Her return to the fictional Republic of Daya (clearly Burma) brings about the destruction of her husband and his dictatorship. Irrawaddy Tango tells the unsettling tale of powerful men and powerless women. It evokes as well the harshness of exile, revealing the misunderstandings between East and West and by doing so captures the intensity of living between the two.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Tango, the picaresque and sassy heroine of Law-Yone's second novel (after The Coffin Tree ), rides her flair for dancing from obscurity in the backwater village of Irrawaddy to the highest position available to a woman in the fictional Asian nation of Daway: wife of its sadistic, stupid dictator. She later becomes a political prisoner, an exile and, finally, a murderer, caught up in a whirlwind of events that leaves her alienated, rootless and reduced to an existential stupor. Relentlessly wisecracking and notably lacking in insight, Tango's first-person narration quickly wears thin; the first three quarters of the text completely fail to prepare the reader for her striking transformation into a world-weary matron at the novel's close. Although later chapters have greater focus and narrative tension, an excessive reliance on literary allusion rings false, since nothing in Tango's background suggests she would have such knowledge. Law-Yone tackles a worthy theme--the inevitable, destructive alienation felt by thoughtful Third World exiles both abroad and at home--and the novel's final section is gripping, but the bulk of it reads like a first draft.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

In her second novel, Law-Yone has created another Asian female protagonist ravaged by the inhumanity of a cruel and crazy world dominated by impotent old men. The titular heroine grows up in the small, insular town of Irrawaddy and dreams of one day making it in the big wide world. Her only claim to fame is her knack for the Tango, which gets her the attention of the then-incubating strongman of the country, the Supremo. Her marriage and her life are irrevocably lost when she is kidnapped by an ethnic guerrilla group fighting for independence and the Supremo refuses to bail her out. Even though the novel is set in an imaginary country called Daya, the almost surreal mixture of East and West, the totalitarian tendencies, the ethnic strife, and the general lack of sense in daily life aptly suggest a number of South Asian countries. While Law-Yone's superb use of language is worthy of the highest praise, this reviewer has strong reservations about her seeming infatuation with detailing sexual torture and mutilation. Recommended for large literature collections.
- Cherry W. Li, Santa Monica Coll. Lib., Cal.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Triquarterly (April 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810151421
• ISBN-13: 978-0810151420
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #806,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a dance but a person ..., October 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Irrawaddy Tango (Hardcover)

... "Irrawaddy Tango" is the nickname of a girl -- "Irrawaddy" from her township, "Tango" from her favorite dance -- who lives the history of a Southeast Asian country called "Daya". Daya is quite clearly Burma, renamed so that Law-Yone can invent Irrawaddy Tango as the wife of "Supremo" (himself quite clearly General Ne Win); then a prisoner and ultimately leader of ethnic rebels; an exile in America; and ultimately return her to an ambiguous fate in Daya.

The book is brutal, explicit and bitter; Tango herself is not entirely likeable, particularly in her patronizing and dismissive attitude towards fellow refugee Dayans in Washington. But there is a lot of brutality and bitterness in the scenes Law-Yone describes & no doubt they are not far from life.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars sleeping with ne win, March 22, 2008

By 

Bodomar (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Irrawaddy Tango (Paperback)

Wendy Law-Yone is a Chinese/Burmese lady, daughter of a well-known journalist in Burma. This book describes the bizarre and at times brutal and lurid story of a woman in Burma (perhaps it is partially autobiographical!) who circulated in the higher echelons of burmese society in the 60's and 70's, got involved in politics, spent some time in jail and had an affair with the then top guy, the old dictator General Ne Win. I don't know how true the story is or whether it has anything to do with Wendy Law-Yone's own experiences, but it is interesting for me, as a burmese man (who used to read his father's editorials!), to find out what Wendy has to say about Burma. She writes well though (like her dad!). The book is worth the price!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Important Book, August 10, 2005

By 

Virgo Girl (LA, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Irrawaddy Tango (Paperback)

Irrawaddy Tango is a great read -- not only a rollicking ride but also, at times, shockingly brutal and necessarily honest. As a view into late 20th century Southeast Asia from the eyes of a female exile/refugee, it's a important look into relationships between men and women and those between cultures. For those interested in Burma, Southeast Asia, women's studies, human rights, or postcolonial/transnational literature, Irrawaddy Tango is not to be missed.