By Guy Delisle
Publisher: Jonathan Cape
ISBN: 9780224096188
I’ve enjoyed Guy Delisle’s gag strip books, but hadn’t yet dipped my toe into his travelogues, so thought I’d start with Burma Chronicles as my Grandpa served out there during WW2 as a radar operator. His stories, some of which were shocking, some of which were touching, painted a picture of a country that I couldn’t place in the modern world and certainly not against the news stories of its recent history. This seemed like a good way in, seeing the country through the eyes of a cartoonist as he adjusts to life there with his wife (working for an aid agency) and son.
Because the country was under military control while they were there it’s a curious mix of the warmth and friendliness of its inhabitants and the more obscure and repressive nature of its controls and restrictions, such as the brutally mangled newspapers and magazines that are clipped and holed to remove anything the junta would object to.
Delisle tells his story in a diary-like manner, taking one or two pages to depict an experience in a comic strip format, and recording differences, similarities and surprises. The aim isn’t to hit you with a punchline each time (although some situations deliver one) but to leave you with an impression of day-to-day life. As Delisle’s wife is often working away on the aid projects he is left in charge (sort of – you’ll see what I mean) of their infant son, and trips out onto the streets generate much interest amongst neighbours, but should he go out alone the same neighbours treat him as if he’s invisible. He records what it’s like to deal with the heat and humidity, how he copes with ex-pat socialising, and the coincidence of living a few streets away from Aung San Suu Kyi while she was still under house arrest. He also records his efforts to teach animation to some interested locals and how this almost backfires in a potentially devastating manner, to illustrate just how fragile the freedoms were at the time.
It’s not a book full of belly laughs, although there are plenty of humorous moments contrasting with the bleaker, more difficult ones. Delisle’s observations paint a respectful picture of a people living in difficult times, offering an insightful look into a secretive country. Things may have changed in Burma now, but this is still an important and enlightening tale of one man’s experiences of that moment in history.
And if you liked that: Guy Delisle has more travelogue books under his belt – look them up
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