Under the Dragon: Travels in a Betrayed Land [Paperback]

Rory MacLean (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1999

This expression of the pain of Burma uses novelistic techniques to weave together the patient endurance of its stricken inhabitants, together with their fragility and immense charm. Through his studies of the lives of the individual Burmese whom he encounters, the author makes us feel the weight of the regime under which they labour, from the girls who work on the building-sites under appallingly exploitative conditions to the drunken pirates who profit from the chaos.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Stalin's Nose: 'Crazy, charming, a delight' - John Le Carre 'A minor masterpiece of comic surrealism' - The Times Praise for The Oatmeal Ark: 'So polished, so clever, so artful, so innovative; a remarkable, beguiling journey' - Michael Thompson-Noel, Financial Times

About the Author

Rory MacLean trained as a screenwriter. Apart from winning the Yorkshire Post Best First Book Award, he is also the winner of the Independent Travel Writing Award. He is married and lives in Dorset.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins Pub Ltd (July 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0006530826
• ISBN-13: 978-0006530824
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,388,585 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rory MacLean's eight books, including UK best-sellers 'Stalin's Nose' and 'Under the Dragon', have challenged and invigorated travel writing, and ­ according to the late John Fowles ­ are among works that 'marvellously explain why literature still lives'. During his research journeys, MacLean walked through the newly-opened Berlin Wall, met Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon and interviewed Pashtun elders at the Kacha Garhi refugee camp after the destruction of the World Trade Center.

His books have won awards from the Canada Council and the Arts Council of England, were shortlisted for the Thomas Cook Travel Book Prize and nominated for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary award. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and an active member of English PEN. He has also written and presented over 50 programmes for BBC radio and worked on movies with David Bowie and Marlene Dietrich. Born in Canada, long resident in the UK, he now lives in Berlin.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written and haunting, November 29, 2003

By 

Kelly "chezkelly" (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Under the Dragon Travels In a Betrayed L (Hardcover)

I was captivated by the book from the first story to the end. Ni Ni's short life was a snapshot of the helplessness, courage and tragedy of the Burmese people under the rule of a brutal, corrupt and repressive regime. The search of an old basket weaved the stories and observations very nicely together. It was quietly powerful, a non-provocative, dignified and compassionate account of Burma. Throughout the book, I felt anger, sadness, admiration and humbleness. I was charmed by the generosity, friendliness, sincerity, warmth, hospitality, honesty, dignity and courage of the people. I wish the tourists and merchants could show more consideration and respect to Burmese people, culture, resources, environment and heritage. We would be no better than the foreigner who used Ni Ni and discarded her after use, who took without caring what he took away. The nation deserves better and this book helps us to understand its plight and hope.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quest makes frightening and alien culture accessible, March 19, 2002

By 

C. Coltman (Islamabad, Pakistan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Under the Dragon: Travels in a Betrayed Land (Paperback)

This evocative book has haunted me since I first read it last year.

Rory MacLean weaves the story of his search for traditional Burmese culture (in the form of an antique basket)together with the tragic and profoundly moving lives of some contemporary Burmese. His harrowing and potentially deadly experience at the work's climax, takes his story and experience of Burma far beyond traditional travel literature, as his terror, on the one hand, and frustration and sadness about the destruction of Burmese traditions, on the other, grippingly recall the fear and loss of his earlier subjects.

As he was in his earlier works, the author, is an intriguing character in this book. His uniquely personal involvement in the story and first person narration make the experience immediate and compelling, and as the reader finds herself drawn into his accessible story of the quest, so she gains rare knowledge of what might have remained unknowable: Burma and its people. The basket story not only creates suspense and unifies the book; in a small way, it brings the reader into the drama and emotion experienced by contemporary Burmese.

This book transcends its genre, and warrants reading and rereading. I highly recommend it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well written, uninteresting, uninformative, December 21, 2010

By 

Paul S "Paul" (Portland OR area) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Under the Dragon: A Journey through Burma (Paperback)

This book is indisputably well written. But it taught me nothing about Burma I didn't already know and it was rather dull in much of the book. The author uses small stories about different characters to tell the story of Burma's recent history and repressive practices, but the stories just aren't that interesting in many cases. Captivating this book is not. I didn't find it to be travel literature or politically informative, and as fiction it was concise but lackluster.
Paul