First published 2005
John Flory, a disillusioned British timber merchant, suffocates under colonial rule in a remote Burmese outpost. Isolated and alcoholic, he dreams of authentic connection in a society poisoned by racism and bureaucratic contempt. When Elizabeth Lackersteen arrives—young, provincial, desperate to escape spinsterhood—Flory sees a potential escape from his moral despair. But the rigid social hierarchies of imperial Burma will not permit such transgressions. As local tensions escalate and racial prejudices reach a boiling point, Flory must choose between his fragile hope for genuine human understanding and the brutal systems that define his world.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, british-literature
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, moral-dilemma
Setting: Dystopia
Period: Future
276 pages · Hardcover · 1st World Library
Content warnings: colonialism, racism