Novel
Shwé Sungo
Not translated into English
Dagon Khin Khin Lay · 1933
Synopsis
The novel celebrates the Burmese resistance to the British colonizer. The history of Burmese literature that names it keeps it for this stance alone and summarizes neither its plot nor its characters: outside Burma, the book is known only by its title and by the struggle it takes as its subject.
Context
The book was published in 1933, when the new Burmese novelists were gathering at the Red Dragon Club, founded in 1928: in favour of independence and open to Marxist ideas, they counted the author among them. Two years later, she denounced the poverty of the peasants in another novel, La Vie d'une femme. Other members of the club likewise made the novel a weapon in the service of Burmese independence.
Who it is for
A novel in Burmese, known outside Burma by its title alone; no French translation.
Prizes and reception
Singled out by a history of Burmese letters as the novel in which its author celebrated resistance to the colonisers.