The Trouser People: A Story of Burma in the Shadow of the Empire

The short of my opinion on this book is that if you are curious about Burma,(or think you could be curious) then buy this book. The writing is superb, the author has an exceptional capacity for observation and an endearing personality, the book is very dense(yet fun) on the score of interesting facts, and the basic conception is very imaginative. I admit that I've not read any other books on Burma, and only a few other travelogues, but regardless, - and I mean this in the most objective sense possible - this book is d*mnd good! Some of this has undoubtedly been included in other reviews, but... The whole structure of the book is woven around the travels through Burma of two people, the author and a 19-th century Victorian goomba, George Scott. Having two parallel story threads roughly a century apart, I felt, did a lot to put things in persective, and at times really set my imagination on fire. Reading one page, I'm(armchair-wise) traveling with the author to a distant, intriguing village high up in some beautifully forested and rice-terraced hills; on another page I get to read about some Shan chief who, killed by the British, was boiled into some kind of goo by Shan rivals and decanted into vials which were sold as potions for bravery; on another I'm wondering if the author is going to be beaten by soldiers and dumped in the fog-ensnared mud while undertaking some foolhardy quest in a northern Wa drug state, trying to find a mythical lake; and on another I get to witness George Scott defuse the mistrust of a xenophobic Wa village, armed with nothing but a sense of humor that apparently transcended culture. And interwoven with all these wonderful, exotic stories, are many facts, historical and contemporary, on various customs, superstitions, political circumstances, human rights violations, and on every other matter of conceivable relevance. Such as the efflorescence of soccer in Burma in the 19-th century, for example. In summation, the author has a sharp eye for detail, the ability to make very intelligent writing, a sense of adventure and an abundance of curiosity, and the wit and passion to put it all together into a very satisfying read, and this he has done.

This is not an even-handed scholarly study of Burma -- thank goodness. It moves along just like a journey, in fits and starts, pausing here, rushing there.Focusing on Sir George Scott, British Empire-builder of a hundred years ago, Marshall paints a vivid picture of Burma today. His writing is extraordinarily full of life, leading the reader from sympathy to outrage, from suspense to laughter. This is not a book you want to give to someone recuperating from surgery: Marshall is one of the funniest writers I have ever read, and would play havoc on surgical stitches. One point I would like to debate: his discussion of the Kayan/Padaung families working for the Hupin Hotel in Yawnghwe/Nyaungshwe. I know the family that runs the Hupin personally -- several branches of the clan, actually, and count several of the staff among my friends. Yes, they are not running the hotel for their health, and yes, they are making a profit, but in all sincerity, I do not think their dealings with the Kayan are as heartless as Marshall depicts. There are two families of Kayan by Inle Lake. Marshall met the ones hired by the Hupin, not those moved in by the government. The Hupin went into the mountains and made a deal with the family: they would build a house for them, give the men jobs in factories around Yawnghwe, the women would work for the hotel, and the kids would go to school at Hupin's expense. They are paid monthly salaries and medical expenses, and any weddings and what-not are paid for by the Hupin. Some of the children have reached high school, and are still going strong. Few children in the countryside get so much schooling. One little girl envied all the attention her big sister got from tourists because of the rings on her neck. The little girl raised such a fuss that her parents agreed to let her have rings on her neck, even though she had not reached the traditional age for that. BTW: she refuses to go to school. The price for a photo with the Padaung is US$3: this is split 3 ways, between the guide, the hotel, and the Padaung (US$1 is a good day's wage for someone working in Yangon, a week's salary for the countryside.) The Padaung are free to go back to Kayah state. When they go, they bring handicrafts back to the hotel, which they sell to tourists; this money goes into their own pockets. My friends from the Hupin asked the Kayan to lower the price of the bracelets I was buying, and let me tell you, it was a struggle! These are not listless zombies meekly obeying a master's wishes. Marshall describes a concrete compound. I am not sure what he is talking about, unless it is the area outside their compound, beyond the bamboo bridge. Their wooden house was built Kayan style, in accordance with their specific wishes. They are an extremely conservative tribe. Marshall makes much of the women not leaving their compound. The Padaung are shy people, and the women do not speak Burmese, so they are not willing to range far. Also, I have heard from separate, un

THE TROUSER PEOPLE by Andrew Marshall is simply riveting! Wittily written and packed with historical facts, Marshall retraces the experiences and observations of Sir James George Scott ("Shway Yoe"), that irrepressibly insightful Briton who served his "Great Queen" (Victoria) in Burma in the 19th century, having first gone there as a school teacher and journalist. Posing as a tourist, Marshall, a journalist, made several forays into forbidden Burma to gather material for this tale. Ever under the scrutiny, and never escaping the suspicion of the military junta for being anything but a tourist, he fooled them all. The result is this tragic commentary of Burma which has been under the military boot since 1962. Marshall's trek from China's Yunnan province to find the legendary Nawng Hkeo lake in the War hills was indeed a hair-raising experience. The Wa tribe, whose domain straddle the Burma-China border, were, until 1970s, ferocious head hunters. Legend has it that they descended from a tadpole who resided in Lake Nawng Hkeo, which stands hidden in the mist on a ridge 7,300 feet high. The Wa have now substituted head hunting with growing opium and manufacturing methamphetamines. The traditionally longyi (sarong)-wearing Burmese derisively called their colonial oppressors "the trouser people." It seems that nothing has changed in the hundred years since the Brits first set foot on Burmese soil over a century ago. They are now oppressed by rulers of their own kind, the generals, who also wear trousers, but who are also beneficiaries of epithets far more colorful. Marshall perceptively concludes that the British raj and the present day Burmese generals both share the conviction that they alone know what is best for the country. U Kyaw Win Boulder, Colorado

This is really very good indeed. I read a lot of travelogue-meets-history and generally come away pretty dissatisfied. It's not easy for a journalistic writer to merge an account of personal adventuring with controversial historical analysis and not end up annoying the reader. But there's never any doubt that Marshall succeeds - the intrepid stuff is as lightly done as the scholarship and he - as any expedition leader must - wins the reader's trust at the first hazard (in this case the smuggling of himself over the Thai border to a rebel camp in the damp and dangerous Karen highlands). It's quite a feat. The difficulties of the territory are not just geographic; Marshall takes on the evils of modern Burma under the Generals and the peculiar pleasures of British late-period colonialism and dares to draw the links - hardly uncontentious. But he convinces, and provides a lot of entertainment, too. He has some great characters. George Scott, the Victorian conqueror of Upper Burma (sometimes by football), is a treasure of eccentric fun from an age that usually churned out bullies and bores to run the British colonies. The modern Burmese Marshall meets and travels with are vivid people whose endless sad story is at the centre of the book - when so often the Natives in this sort of writing end up being merely the author's supporting cast. And Marshall, as character in his own book, wandering with cheeky inquisitiveness through the Burmese generals' land of horrors, is witty, self-deprecating and never boasts about being brave at all.Best of its kind since Redmond O'Hanlon.

This book held my attention all the way through.Historical facts were mixed with exciting adventures and humour. The sheer bravery of the author was, at times, totally amazing.As this is also an expose of Burma's modern tragedy,just writing this story was a brave thing to do.He has an extraordinary ability to take the reader with him as he goes through various trials and tribulations and to make history come alive again. An excellent book from this Scottish writer.