I really enjoyed reading Miss Burma.

The subject matter is difficult, the scars left by British colonialism familiar and yet still horrible and tragic, in particular the simmering ethnic resentments and hatred that has overwhelmed the country after independence. There are two things though that distinguish this novel from books that tread similar ground. First, and as previously mentioned, Charmaine Craig has decided to take a fictional approach to her family’s past. Her decision to ignore the memoir or biography makes for a more intimate reading experience. Yes I did wonder what it must have been like writing graphic scenes of her grandparents having sex or exploring their feelings of betrayal as they both find comfort in the bed of others, but the freedom to explore the fictional thoughts of her grandparents and mother means that they have a complexity and depth that might have been missing if she’d taken the non-fiction route. The second thing is that Louisa Craig – Miss Burma – while she might be the title character is not the novel’s primary focus. We only really see the world from her point of view until the last quarter of the novel. Craig therefore, and astutely, avoids making the book about the Miss Burma contest or the melodrama of her marrying a commander of the Karen National Liberation Army, and rather focuses on the troubled history of Burma told through the turbulent relationship between Khin and Benny. Their love, their hatred, their inability to be together or be apart.

My full review can be found here: http://mondyboy.com/?p=8417