Length17h 51m
About this audiobook
Chosen by John Irving in the New York Times as One of the Best Books of the 21st Century
“Paul Theroux has exploited this biographical lacuna with great shrewdness and gusto… his fictional account of Blair’s life there [Burma] is a valid and entirely credible attempt to add flesh to the skeletal facts we have of this time. […]this novel is one of his finest, in a long and redoubtable oeuvre.” —New York Times Book Review
From the acclaimed author of The Mosquito Coast and The Bad Angel Brothers comes a riveting new novel exploring one of English literature’s most beloved and controversial figures—George Orwell—and the early years as an officer in colonial Burma that transformed him from Eric Blair, the British Raj policeman, into Orwell the anticolonial writer.
At age nineteen, young Eton graduate Eric Blair set sail for India, dreading the assignment ahead. Along with several other young conscripts, he would be trained for three years as a servant of the British Empire, overseeing the local policemen in Burma. Navigating the social, racial, and class politics of his fellow British at the same time as he learned the local languages and struggled to control his men would prove difficult enough. But doing all of this while grappling with his own self-worth, his sense that he was not cut out for this, is soon overwhelming for the young Blair. Eventually, his clashes with his superiors, and the drama that unfolds in this hot, beautiful land, will change him forever.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 3.9 (2.5K)
Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing
GenreFantasy, General Fiction, Science Fiction
Length17 hrs 51 mins
Narrated byCharlie Anson
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateFeb 6, 2024
LanguageEnglish
More from Paul Theroux
True NorthPaul Theroux17h 21m3.9 (41)$40 · $0.00
Blinding LightPaul Theroux19h 4m3.2 (1.1K)$40 · $0.00
Hotel HonoluluPaul Theroux16h 13m3.6 (3K)$33 · $0.00
Under The Wave At WaimeaPaul Theroux18h 21m3.8 (2.1K)$40 · $0.00
Sunrise with SeamonstersPaul Theroux17h 51m3.9 (951)$40 · $0.00
Picture PalacePaul Theroux13h 11m3.6 (517)$33 · $0.00
Riding the Iron RoosterPaul Theroux19h 11m4.0 (12K)$40 · $0.00
The Happy Isles of OceaniaPaul Theroux24h 8m4.1 (8.6K)$53 · $0.00
The Tao of TravelPaul Theroux9h 50m3.8 (2.6K)$29 · $0.00
The Bad Angel BrothersPaul Theroux12h 20m3.7 (1K)$29 · $0.00
Fresh Air FiendPaul Theroux19h 37m3.9 (1.8K)$40 · $0.00
The Vanishing PointPaul Theroux13h 43m3.9 (363)$33 · $0.00
Saint JackPaul Theroux8h 19m3.7 (1.1K)$26 · $0.00
Demon CopperheadBarbara Kingsolver21h 3m4.5 (949.4K)$46 · $0.00
Remarkably Bright CreaturesShelby Van Pelt11h 17m4.4 (1.7M)$29 · $0.00
Before the Coffee Gets Cold: A Toshikazu Kawaguchi Book SetToshikazu Kawaguchi18h 55m4.5 (1.4K)$40 · $0.00
The Song of AchillesMadeline Miller11h 15m4.3 (2.3M)$29 · $0.00
The Left and the LuckyWilly Vlautin6h 40m4.4 (1.1K)$24 · $0.00
Hunt of the DragonJuliette Cross9h 46m4.4 (736)$20
Deadly GameChristine Feehan13h 20m4.3 (15.8K)$30
A Tree Grows in BrooklynBetty Smith14h 55m4.4 (577.6K)$33 · $0.00
Dark GuardianChristine Feehan12h 32m4.5 (26.3K)$33 · $0.00
The Neil Gaiman ReaderNeil Gaiman27h 3m4.5 (3.2K)$53 · $0.00
The HobbitJ. R. R. Tolkien10h 51m4.4 (4.9M)$12 · $0.00
Bad HabitAlana S. Portero5h 37m4.4 (52.3K)$24 · $0.00
Science Fiction & Fantasy CollectionH. P. Lovecraft16h 32m4.5 (2.7K)$2 · $0.00
The Undead PoolKim Harrison16h 13m4.4 (34.6K)$33 · $0.00
The Edge of DawnBeverly Jenkins10h 15m4.5 (1.1K)$29 · $0.00
The Tapestry of FateShannon Chakraborty20h 2m4.4 (3.4K)$46 · $0.00
The Lack of LightNino Haratischwili26h 20m4.4 (9.2K)$53 · $0.00
My Dear HamiltonStephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie23h 7m4.4 (63.6K)$46 · $0.00
A Broken People's PlaylistChimeka Garricks6h 40m4.4 (3.7K)$24 · $0.00
Wicked BiteJeaniene Frost8h 56m4.4 (14.6K)$29 · $0.00
WhistlerAnn Patchett10h 45m4.6 (4.6K)$29 · $0.00
Demon CopperheadBarbara Kingsolver21h 3m4.5 (949.4K)$46 · $0.00
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee12h 18m4.5 (7.4M)$29 · $0.00
Remarkably Bright CreaturesShelby Van Pelt11h 17m4.4 (1.7M)$29 · $0.00
Cast in BloodMichelle Sagara16h 35m4.6 (607)$33 · $0.00
The Captain Blood Trilogy (Annotated)Rafael Sabatini29h 20m4.6 (1K)$3 · $0.00
Ship of the Line (Annotated)Cecil Louis Troughton Smith11h 13m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
The George Orwell CollectionGeorge Orwell24h 46m4.5 (14.4K)$12 · $0.00
Time RegainedMarcel Proust15h 38m4.5 (9.2K)$2 · $0.00
Driving ForceElle James4h 58m4.6 (407)$20 · $0.00
When God Calls the HeartBrian Bird, Michelle Cox3h 24m4.6 (439)$10 · $0.00
Five Little IndiansMichelle Good10h 34m4.5 (64.5K)$29 · $0.00
Lolth's WarriorR. A. Salvatore13h 20m4.6 (2.4K)$33 · $0.00
The Things We Cannot SayKelly Rimmer13h 48m4.5 (359.1K)$33 · $0.00
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du BoisHonoree Fanonne Jeffers29h 49m4.5 (58K)$8 · $0.00
Going PostalTerry Pratchett11h 23m4.5 (189.9K)$29 · $0.00
Glen AffricKarine Giebel22h 51m4.5 (3.2K)$46 · $0.00
The Book Of NegroesLawrence Hill15h 45m4.5 (107.3K)$33 · $0.00
Anne of Green GablesL. M. Montgomery11h 1m4.5 (1.2M)$2.30 · $0.00
Lieutenant Hornblower (Annotated)C. S. Forester11h 41m4.5 (2.9K)$2 · $0.00
Before the Coffee Gets Cold: A Toshikazu Kawaguchi Book SetToshikazu Kawaguchi18h 55m4.5 (1.4K)$40 · $0.00
PRIMAL 2055 - EscapeJack Silkstone6h 47m4.4 (232)Free
Philip K. Dick: SF Boxed SetPhilip K. Dick29h 38m4.5 (608)$1 · $0.00
Magician's EndRaymond E. Feist17h 5m4.4 (21.7K)$40 · $0.00
Good OmensNeil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett12h 14m4.4 (1M)$29 · $0.00
The Emperor's FistJay Allan8h 37m4.5 (272)$26 · $0.00
The DispossessedUrsula K. Le Guin13h 26m4.4 (189.3K)$33 · $0.00
1984George Orwell11h 31m4.3 (6.2M)$1.20 · $0.00
Lost ValleyWalt Browning7h 47m4.3 (5.4K)$20 · $0.00
AgincourtBernard Cornwell16h 18m4.3 (41.4K)$40 · $0.00
Frankenstein (The Uncensored 1818 Edition) (Annotated)Mary Shelley9h 25m4.3 (1.7M)$3 · $0.00
The World Wasn't Ready for YouJustin C. Key11h 34m4.4 (812)$5 · $0.00
Godzilla vs. KongGreg Keyes10h 32m4.3 (1.4K)$20 · $0.00
Alas, Babylon (Annotated)Pat Frank12h 32m4.3 (11.6K)$2 · $0.00
Day of WrathWilliam R. Forstchen4h 36m4.3 (1.9K)$14 · $0.00
AbandonedJules Verne7h 42m4.3 (1.1K)$2.30 · $0.00
StargodsIan Douglas12h 15m4.4 (732)$5 · $0.00
Two Plays for VoicesNeil Gaiman2h 4m4.3 (1K)$16 · $0.00
March UpcountryDavid Weber, John Ringo17h 17m4.2 (17.1K)$28 · $0.00
Freedom’s FireBobby Adair7h 50m4.3 (7.6K)$20 · $0.00
You may also like
The Princess CasamassimaHenry James22h 37m3.9 (6.1K)$1.20 · $0.00
Loss and Gain (Annotated)John Henry Newman13h 29m4.2 (370)$3 · $0.00
The Proud HighwayHunter S. Thompson27h 14m4.2 (4.8K)$30
ArrowsmithSinclair Lewis20h 43m4.1 (17.6K)$2 · $0.00
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young ManJames Joyce9h 16m3.8 (193.5K)$20
Beatles ’66Steve Turner12h 14m4.4 (1.8K)$23
Confessions (Unabridged)Jean-Jacques Rousseau30h 32m3.8 (16.1K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Story of my LifeClarence Darrow17h 6m4.1 (352)$2 · $0.00
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young ManJames Joyce10h 37m3.9 (206.4K)$1 · $0.00
The Autobiography of Benjamin FranklinBenjamin Franklin7h 4m4.0 (111.9K)$2.30
The Education of Henry AdamsHenry Adams19h 38m3.8 (7K)$0.60 · $0.00
India: A Million Mutinies NowV. S. Naipaul24h 46m4.0 (2.6K)$30
ANN VERONICAH. G. Wells12h 44m3.6 (2.5K)$1.99 · $0.00
DreamlandKevin Baker6h3.7 (1.9K)$24 · $0.00
Fathers and ChildrenIvan Turgenev7h 39m4.1 (186.3K)Free
A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN (Awakening of Stephen Dedalus) (Annotated)James Joyce11h 13m3.8 (197.1K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Red and the BlackStendhal21h 10m4.0 (97.4K)$2.30
Benjamin FranklinRobin McKown5h 26m4.6 (12)$2.30
Ann VickersSinclair Lewis16h 20m3.8 (229)$1.20 · $0.00
Homosexuality in ArtJames Smalls7h 1m3.7 (32)$18 · $0.00