"Paul Theroux has exploited this biographical lacuna with great shrewdness and gusto... his fictional account of Blair's life there [Burma] is a valid and entirely credible attempt to add flesh to the skeletal facts we have of this time. [...]this novel is one of his finest, in a long and redoubtable oeuvre." -- New York Times Book Review

"A colorful, action-packed saga." -- Wall Street Journal

"Stellar. ... frames an insightful portrait of a young George Orwell within a scathing depiction of British colonialism. ... With piercing prose, Theroux lays bare the fraudulent and fiercely despotic nature of the British Empire. This brims with intelligence and vigor." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"It's a risky proposition for one writer to attempt to channel another, especially one as closely read and influential as George Orwell. But Theroux has the chops and the moxie, drawing on his experiences as a novelist and travel writer to imagine Orwell's life-shaping sojourn in Burma with dramatic specificity. ... Theroux's engrossing, suspenseful novel incisively maps the start of Blair's metamorphosis into George Orwell, resounding critic of malevolent power." -- Booklist (starred review)

"From a distinguished literary veteran, a compelling historical novel about callow youth. ... Theroux is always great with setting; here it's not just Burma but the mind of Orwell that he persuasively inhabits." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Paul Theroux knows the cultural and political landscape of Burma. This riveting read provides a fascinating fictional account of Orwell's police work during the most interesting and least known part of his career, and makes him come alive in the tropical setting." -- Jeffrey Meyers, author of Orwell: Wintry Conscience of a Generation and Orwell: Life and Art