Irrawaddy Tango
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Book Overview
A novel of love, vengeance and political unrest in South East Asia Irrawaddy Tango, a pepper-tongued, tango-dancing Asian beauty rises from a village girlhood to become the wife of her country's dictator and then a leader of the rebel forces arrayed against him. Tango captures the attention of an ambitious colonel --the self-proclaimed Supremo--while dancing at a talent contest. Once married, she is forced to endure the cruelties of a ruthless and foolish husband, is kidnapped by rebel forces, recaptured and brutally punished by her husband's military clique, and eventually exiled to America. Her return to the fictional Republic of Daya (clearly Burma) brings about the destruction of her husband and his dictatorship. Irrawaddy Tango tells the unsettling tale of powerful men and powerless women. It evokes as well the harshness of exile, revealing the misunderstandings between East and West and by doing so captures the intensity of living between the two.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0810151421
ISBN13:9780810151420
Release Date:April 2003
Publisher:Triquarterly Books
Length:304 Pages
Weight:0.77 lbs.
Dimensions:0.9" x 5.5" x 8.7"
Customer Reviews
2 ratings
An Important Book
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
Irrawaddy Tango is a great read -- not only a rollicking ride but also, at times, shockingly brutal and necessarily honest. As a view into late 20th century Southeast Asia from the eyes of a female exile/refugee, it's a important look into relationships between men and women and those between cultures. For those interested in Burma, Southeast Asia, women's studies, human rights, or postcolonial/transnational literature, Irrawaddy Tango is not to be missed.
Not a dance but a person ...
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 26 years ago
... "Irrawaddy Tango" is the nickname of a girl -- "Irrawaddy" from her township, "Tango" from her favorite dance -- who lives the history of a Southeast Asian country called "Daya". Daya is quite clearly Burma, renamed so that Law-Yone can invent Irrawaddy Tango as the wife of "Supremo" (himself quite clearly General Ne Win); then a prisoner and ultimately leader of ethnic rebels; an exile in America; and ultimately return her to an ambiguous fate in Daya.The book is brutal, explicit and bitter; Tango herself is not entirely likeable, particularly in her patronizing and dismissive attitude towards fellow refugee Dayans in Washington. But there is a lot of brutality and bitterness in the scenes Law-Yone describes & no doubt they are not far from life.
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