The Burmese Days by George Orwell

This is a book set in 1934's colonial Burma (then part of greater India) and is really ahead of its time because it tackles issues like racism & the injustice of the social hierarchy of colonial India, at a time when these things sadly, were simply acceptable. It's not a book of misery & torture though, its a rather engaging read. It pre-dates "The Animal Farm" and its said that this book is partly autobiographical (because Orwell did live in Burma for a few years as a gora-sahib); so it lends a window into how Orwell was shaped in his initial years into the socialist thinker he eventually became famous as. A good read.