True Love and Bartholomew: Rebels on the Burmese Border

Falla, a British nurse and playwright, spent several months in 1986-1987 in the rebel state of Kawthoolei assessing the medical needs of the Karen, a mountain folk numbering some four million, who have been engaged in armed struggle with the lowland Burmese since the late 1940s. Though most of the people mentioned in this memoir are members of the Karen National Liberation Front, the author has little to say about their rebellion, concentrating instead on describing their forest and river life, their hospitality, their musical aptitude and their strict moral code. Certain characters who appear here engage us briefly, particularly a sergeant-clerk named True Love and a female nurse named Come Quick, but the author never makes clear why he thinks readers might be interested in the Karen people as a whole. Photos. (May)