Rating: 
Summary: A work of art
Review: A stunning tale of a man who dared to change. As a young boy he amazingly learned english with virtually no resources. He then became the first in his family to go to college. There he met a saint in Dr. Casey. Pascal's run for the Thai border really showed his want for a new life. At Cambridge he stayed hungry , and took advantage of the education. Pascal's determination is something we can all admire
Rating:
Summary: A work of art
Review: A stunning tale of a man who dared to change. As a young boy he amazingly learned english with virtually no resources. He then became the first in his family to go to college. There he met a saint in Dr. Casey. Pascal's run for the Thai border really showed his want for a new life. At Cambridge he stayed hungry , and took advantage of the education. Pascal's determination is something we can all admire
Rating:
Summary: beautiful, magical prose
Review: A tremendous work that elegantly describes the unique beauty of hill tribe culture and tradition vs. the moral bankruptcy of the despotic Burmese government. Lively and evenly paced. It stays with you after you finish. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: A Voice from the Burma Nobody Knows
Review: Burma (aka Myanmar) is a country of many, many different ethnic and tribal groups. While the majority (69%) are Burman, there are many others including Karen, Kachin, Shan, Mon, and the author's own Padaung tribe. (The Padaung are most famous in the West for their "giraffe women" who wear golden rings about their necks that elongate their profile to freakish dimensions.)Pascal Khoo Thwee's book is a narrative of his life as an ambitious young Padaung man trying to negotiate his way through the brutal, murderous, politically-dysfunctional culture that is modern-day Burma. It is an incredible story, cinematic in its dimensions and bizarre, fortuitous coincidences. Thwe gives voice to the Burma that nobody knows, i.e., life as experienced by one of its minority tribal groups. Thwe's descriptions of his life among the Padaung are extraordinarly rich, with all the subtle nuances that only an insider could provide. His account of his flight from a hideous regime and life among the anti-government insurgents in the jungle is equally riveting. Eventually, he escapes to the rarified academic milieu of Cambridge University. It is a great story (and would make a fine movie.) Unfortunately, it is in the account of his political awakening/transformation (the bridge between the two stories above) that the book falls flat. This was the most momentous and revolutionary period in the history of modern day Burma. It was when Aung San Suu Kyi came to world prominence and Burma looked like it had a hope of abandoning its decades long isolation and rejoing the modern (democratic?) world. One would expect that Thwe's narrative would sing at this point. Yet, it seems curiously detached -- almost mailed-in. It seems, in fact, to be reconstructed in significant measure from secondary sources. Only the death of his lover/girlfriend at the hand of the government has any resonance in accounting for his ultimate apostasy from General Ne Win's abominable political ideology. I acknowledge that this may be unfair to Thwe in that I am thinking like a Westerner. He is candid in talking about his difficulties in coming to terms with concepts such as "human rights", "democracy", and "freedom of thought." Still, I feel that his account of the pressures that pushed him toward exile is woefully underdeveloped. On the whole, this is a fine book. I learned much about minority cultures in Burma that I probably would not learn anywhere else. But. . .if you want to understand the revolutionary events that led to the great Burmese uprising of 1988 I would suggest that you look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: Culture and tradition, funny or deadly serious anecdote followed by a harrowing confrontation with Burma's brutal military regime characterize "From the Land of the Green Ghosts." Meanwhile, the story is told so gracefully that one feels eased into a struggle for life and death rather than abruptly confronted by it (as one might be with a Western writer.) The advantage is that the author, the gifted Pascal Khoo Thwe, can punctuate his narrative with a precise and often violent detail. Heart-stopping scenes appear neither moral nor immoral, merely horrifying, a postcard from one of the most repressed countries on the planet.
The author is unpretentious and perceptive. Moreoever, he has a gift for language few, even with effort, manage to possess (all the more remarkable as English is not Mr. Thwe's first, second or even third language.) At the same time, the author fears that none of these assets exist in him. He is mistaken
While it may sound like potent self-deception -- escaping jungle warfare to receive an education at one of the world's most prestigious colleges -- the book itself tells a different story. Admittedly, it is easier to write flowing prose in England than to dodge bullets or mortars (or succumb to malaria) along the Thai-Burmese border, but it is impossible to conclude that a rebel fighter could have better informed the world about Burma's plight than is achieved here by Pascal Khoo Thwe.
Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: Culture, family, tradition, humorous or more severe anecdotes followed by a harrowing clash with a corrupt and brutal military government characterize From the Land of the Green Ghosts. Meanwhile, the story is told so gracefully that one feels eased into a desperate life and death struggle rather than abruptly confronted by it (as one might be with a Western writer.) The advantage is that when the author, the gifted Pascal Khoo Thwe, punctuates his narrative with a precise, violent detail, it stands out (as it should) in the reader's mind. At the same time, such frightening scenes are so immediate that they feel neither moral nor immoral, just simply horrifying, indicative of the repressive violence inflicted upon the people of Burma by the military junta controlling the country. The author is unpretentious, highly perceptive, and graced with a gift for language and writing few possess (all the more remarkable because English was not his first, second or even third language.) Mr. Thwe is also candid about his fears that none of these qualities exist in him. He is mistaken. Moreover, what might seem an apparent pipe dream or convenient rationale for escaping jungle warfare -- that of "helping" his people through receiving an education at one of the world's most elite colleges -- is undone by the book itself. Certainly, it is easier to write beautiful prose while sitting in England than to dodge bullets and mortars (or succumbing to malaria) in the hot jungles along the Thai-Burmese border; but it would be impossible to conclude that any rebel fighter could have better informed the world about Burma's plight than has been done here by Pascal Khoo Thwe.
Rating:
Summary: Great Memoir
Review: Extraordinary memoir by a gifted writer with an extremely unusual story to tell.
Rating:
Summary: A truly inspiring read
Review: I don't post reviews, but this book was such a great one that I had to add my opinion. The author's very personal insights into the Burma's struggles are profound. His early memories growing up in a tribal Padaung culture present a fascinating look at how the Catholicisim taught by missionaries coexisted with tribal myths (a favorite quote, from his grandmother: "The gods are like government officials. If you want things done quickly, you have to bribe the small ones.") As his education progressed, so too did the unbelievable repression of the various Burmese regimes of the day (1960s to 80s). His experience as a student freedom fighter are gripping, as is his remarkable account of how a chance meeting with a Cambridge professor led to his eventual escape to England. For me, this book did 3 things. First, it helped me glimpse the contemporary history of Burma (aka Myanmar), a nation that's always intrigued me, but a place of which I had very little knowledge. Second, it opened my eyes to some of the feelings and courage behind rebels and freedom fighters in oppressively-ruled nations, which allows me to read contemporary accounts of world events in a much richer context. Finally, it made me re-examine my own role in the world. While Pascal was fighting for his life as he made an unimaginable transition (to me anyway) from tribal to contemporary cultures, I was hawking software at trade shows or enjoying the tourist face of neighboring Thailand -- all with no idea of what was really happening in Burma. It was stunning that I could have been so ignorant to what was happening there at a time when I considered myself to be pretty aware of what was going on in the world. A fascinating and extremely well-written book.
Rating:
Summary: A truly inspiring read
Review: I live in Thailand and have traveled to Burma (sometimes called "Myanmar"). I was prepared to like this book and I was expecting the heroic life story that I got. I was not, however, prepared for the beauty of the writing and the depth of the tragedy so simply, but touchingly, told. It is simply amazing to me that anyone can write so beautifully in a second language; Thwe is very talented. I hope that he keeps writing. I also hope that in his next book, he drops some of the reserve that characterizes his cultural upbringing and lets us into his inner life a little more.
Rating:
Summary: A Touching Life
Review: I live in Thailand and have traveled to Burma (sometimes called "Myanmar"). I was prepared to like this book and I was expecting the heroic life story that I got. I was not, however, prepared for the beauty of the writing and the depth of the tragedy so simply, but touchingly, told. It is simply amazing to me that anyone can write so beautifully in a second language; Thwe is very talented. I hope that he keeps writing. I also hope that in his next book, he drops some of the reserve that characterizes his cultural upbringing and lets us into his inner life a little more.
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