1984 & Burmese Days

1984 is a dystopian novella by George Orwell published in 1949 which follows the life of Winston Smith a low ranking member of the Party who is frustrated by the omnipresent eyes of the party and its ominous ruler Big Brother. Big Brother controls every aspect of peoples lives. Burmese Days is the first novel by English writer George Orwell published in 1934. Set in British Burma during the waning days of empire when Burma was ruled from Delhi as part of British India the novel serves as a portrait of the dark side of the British Raj. This is a brilliant and insightful story centred on the nature of racism and colonialism in Burma (now Myanmar) in the timeframe after World War I. Orwell spent considerable time in that country so he has a good understanding of the society he is describing.