Burma Chronicles by Guy DelisleMy VARS rating: 4 of 5 stars
Although the book is best described as a graphic novel, this description is not entirely accurate. Unlike a novel where there is a plot and a streamlined narrative (Persepolis, Kabul Disco, etc), this book is more aptly described as a collection of experiences gathered by the author when he spent a little over a year in Myanmar (Burma) when his doctor wife was posted there as part of MSF.
The book is insightful and revealing and offers a comprehensive though superficial canvas of what life in Burma can be like when seen through the eyes of an expat.
Delisle's sketches are simple but graceful and his style grew on me as I advanced into the novel. That said, the book only began to get interesting for me somewhere around the halfway mark - probably because I had managed to reconcile my expectations for the narrative style by then.
It makes me want to read his two other novels - Pyongyang and Shenzhen.
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