From Publishers Weekly
Khoo Thwe, born in 1967, debuts with a remarkable portrait of his childhood in Phekhon, "the only Catholic town in Burma," among the Padaung people, a subtribe of the Karenni "known for what outsiders call our `giraffe women' because of their necks being elongated by rings." Modernity seeps into Phekhon slowly-only in 1977 did the locals learn, along with news of Elvis's death, that Americans had landed on the moon. The Catholic and animist fables that the author and his 10 siblings live by would be the emblems of a fairy tale life were it not for the violence and economic crises of the dictatorship of General U Ne Win. Khoo Thwe enters Mandalay University during the years when thousands of student activists were killed or imprisoned by the government. A charismatic student organizer, he is forced in 1988 to flee with fellow students to the jungles on the border of Thailand, where a stay with a Karenni rebel group makes him realize they too were "more interested in claiming leadership than in actually giving lead." But while a student, the author, working as a waiter, met John Casey, a Cambridge don who organized a miraculous rescue of the young man. Khoo Thwe's story ends with his studying English literature at Caius College, Cambridge. It is a heartbreaking tale-he is not able to return to Burma and only meets his family at the Thai border for a few hours years later-told with lyricism, affection and insight. Line illus.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From the Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey FROM THE PUBLISHER
In 1988, Dr. John Casey, a professor visiting Burma, meets a waiter in Mandalay with a passion for the works of James Joyce, and the encounter changes both their lives. Pascal, a member of the Kayan Padaung tribe, was the first member of his community to study English at a university. Within months of his meeting with Dr. Casey, Pascal's world lay in ruins. Burma's military dictatorship forces him to sacrifice his studies, and the regime's brutal armed forces murder his lover. Fleeing to the jungle, he becomes a guerrilla fighter in the life-or-death struggle against the government. In desperation, he writes a letter to the Englishman he met in Mandalay. Miraculously reaching its destination, the letter leads to Pascal's rescue and his enrollment in Cambridge University, where he is the first Burmese tribesman ever to attend. From the Land of Green Ghosts unforgettably evokes the realities of life in modern-day Burma and one man's long journey to freedom despite almost unimaginable odds.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Khoo Thwe, born in 1967, debuts with a remarkable portrait of his childhood in Phekhon, "the only Catholic town in Burma," among the Padaung people, a subtribe of the Karenni "known for what outsiders call our `giraffe women' because of their necks being elongated by rings." Modernity seeps into Phekhon slowly-only in 1977 did the locals learn, along with news of Elvis's death, that Americans had landed on the moon. The Catholic and animist fables that the author and his 10 siblings live by would be the emblems of a fairy tale life were it not for the violence and economic crises of the dictatorship of General U Ne Win. Khoo Thwe enters Mandalay University during the years when thousands of student activists were killed or imprisoned by the government. A charismatic student organizer, he is forced in 1988 to flee with fellow students to the jungles on the border of Thailand, where a stay with a Karenni rebel group makes him realize they too were "more interested in claiming leadership than in actually giving lead." But while a student, the author, working as a waiter, met John Casey, a Cambridge don who organized a miraculous rescue of the young man. Khoo Thwe's story ends with his studying English literature at Caius College, Cambridge. It is a heartbreaking tale-he is not able to return to Burma and only meets his family at the Thai border for a few hours years later-told with lyricism, affection and insight. Line illus. (Nov. 1) Forecast: This appeared to rave notices in England and is poised to do the same in the U.S. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Incisively told, remarkable story of a long journey from the hills of Burma to Cambridge University, from a young Burmese man now living in Britain. Born in 1967, Pascal is a member of the Padaung, a mountain tribe with its own language and customs, its religion a mixture of animism, Buddhism, and Catholicism. Living on the edge of the jungle, the tribe members farm and hunt. Pascal's father was a veterinarian who prospered until the so-called Socialist-Nationalist Ne Win set up a one-party state and transformed Burma, once a rich country, into one of the poorest. Pascal details that political history and offers vivid portraits of daily and family life as he records his early school years, his time in seminary, then his decision at 17 to leave and study English at the university in Mandalay. There, conditions and teaching were abysmal: 150 students often had to share a single copy of a book. To pay his fees, he waited tables at a Chinese restaurant, where his conversation about James Joyce with some English visitors led to his meeting, in 1988, their friend from Cambridge, Dr. Casey. Shortly thereafter, the government began ruthlessly eradicating all dissent. Moe, the girl Pascal loved, was jailed, then died in prison, and monks and students were brutally massacred. Previously apolitical, Pascal became deeply involved, and, when sought by the authorities, left his family. Enduring countless hardships, he headed with companions through the mountainous jungle to the rebel-held area on the Thai border. There, despairing of being able to change the situation in Burma, he wrote to Dr. Casey, who arranged for him to travel to Cambridge in 1989 and study English literature. Pascal's English wasnot good, he was often lonely and homesick, but he persevered, graduating in 1994. A distinguished accomplishment that radiates both intelligence and spiritual awareness. Informative and moving. (line illustrations, b&w photos)
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