No Time for Dreams: Living in Burma under Military Rule (Asian Voices) - Hardcover

The detailed narrative provides a rich education about Burmese life. * Kirkus * In elegant prose colored by vivid-but not precious-descriptions of her homeland, Burmese journalist Tin relates with great effect the insidious erosion of freedoms that occurred in her country, beginning in the 1950s with the installation of military rule and the imposition of socialism. . . . Her quiet but powerful story deserves a wide audience. * Publishers Weekly * A compelling personal account of living under successive regimes of mounting incompetence and oppression. -- Jim Andrews * Irrawaddy * From Burma, ruled by the gun for the past five decades by a xenophobic military regime, authentic voices only occasionally escape. Tin's is one such voice. * Booklist * Engaging and fluid. Most importantly, No Time for Dreams provides the reader with a truly intimate view of Burmese culture, which is based not only on historical knowledge but also on lived experience. * Wellesley Centers For Women * No Time for Dreams is one person's story of surviving, and searching, behind [Burma's] closed doors. . . . Well written and provocative. * Mizzima * This personal account of one person's life in Burma is written for anyone who is interested in how a journalist manages his/her role, particularly in an atmosphere of heavy censorship. . . . [A] vivid description of Tin's attempt to navigate a difficult professional and personal life in an environment that not only does not support her goals but also almost restricts her every move. * Southeast Review of Asian Studies * The book is written as Tin's memoir in the hopes of providing a glimpse through the eyes of one woman into what is perhaps the most closed society in the world. . . . Few such writings exist. . . . Thus such a memoir achieves importance under these conditions. . . . Tin provides a candid and readable account of her own ideological and emotional journey. . . . Along her journey, she provides evocative word-pictures of places and people . . . and gives us glimpses of the diversity of Burmese society in terms of social classes, religious groups, ethnicities, and sexual minorities. * Feminist Formations * San San Tin's journey reflects the despair and tragedy that is modern Burma, but it is also a testament to the ways personal integrity and courage can overcome the stifling conformity and unrelenting banality of one of the world's most enduring and irrational dictatorships. Beautifully written and evocative of what was and what could be again, this memoir is essential reading for anyone interested in this oft-forgotten land and, indeed, in the universal struggle for truth and freedom. -- Sean Turnell, Macquarie University San San Tin's beautiful and intricate narrative vividly and intimately describes her personal feelings and family life, the state of the community, and her struggles against the oppressive political system and the chauvinistic traditions of her culture. Above all, she unfolds her fight for dignity and freedom amid the heart of darkness that is military-ruled 'Myanmar.' The book captures the sights, the sounds, the scents, and the atmosphere of the country in such delicate detail that it feels like reading an epic poem one wants to return to again and again. -- Pascal Khoo-Thwe, author of From the Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey

No Time for Dreams narrates a remarkable woman's search for independence and purpose over four decades while repression spreads in Burma and the shadow of military rule lengthens. Inspired by the legacy of her father Ba Tin's struggle against British colonialism beginning in the 1930s, San San Tin infuses her journey from school girl to journalist and poet with an unbroken spirit of resistance. Offering the first insider's view of politics, culture, religion, and family over nearly half a century of unrelenting dictatorship, this riveting personal story traces an arc of decline to reveal the bitter fate of the once-prosperous and cosmopolitan society known in the past as the Golden Land.