By Daniel Bradfield

I lived in Southeast Asia for two and a half years, spending varying lengths of time in Taiwan, Japan, Phillipine Islands, Okinawa, Thailand, Cambodia, South Viet Nam and Laos. I approached Guy Delisle’s bok, Burma Chronicles with great enthusiasm. Guy Delisle presents an autobiographical account of his time in Burma (Myanmar) with his wife and his toddler son, Louis. His wife works for a Non Government Organization (NGO), Doctors Without Borders. Delisle looks at Burma through the eyes of an ex-patriot (ex-pat) who is apparently new to life in Asia. He spends a great deal of time complaining. He complains about censorship, pages are literally cut from magazines and newspapers if they are considered offensive by the Censorship Bureau. He complains about the weather, Burma has a hot season, a very hot season and a rainy season. He complains about the City Mart where there are more clerks than customers. He complains about the AC, the Architecture, the traffic, the politics, etcetra. He spends a lot of time complaining.

Although the story veers away from the tourist approach, he may under estimate the reader’s interest is Burma’s temples (Bagan) and other tourist attractions. He does discuss the Gem Museum, but has a negative attitude about the lighting and wiring. He produces 41 panels about tourism at Lake Inlay, and not a single word. He is not very curious and does not spend much time exploring the City of Ragoon other than finding the shortest routes to the Australian field house with pool, and frequently passing the private residence of Aung San Suu Kyi, the world’s most famous political prisoner.

Delisle offers very little information about his interactions with the local people. Of course this may be to protect them from the dictatorial regime ruling the country. However, I would have liked to know a little more about the students in his amateur animation class, or the characters in his neighborhood who periodically bounce in and out of the plot.  

Overall, Delisle’s book is an entertaining little book, but that may be the problem it is too little and not that entertaining.