Bhutan

Destination: Bhutan

Books: (To Be Given Away by Random Draw)

Married to Bhutan: How One Woman Got Lost, Said “I Do” and Found Bliss, (NEW 4/2011) by Linda Leaming

Radio Shangri-La: What I Learned in Bhutan, the Happiest Kingdom on Earth (NEW 1/2011) by Lisa Napoli

Two memoirs. One country. I can almost guarantee that you will like one of these books better than the other. What I cannot tell you is which you will like better.  That depends on which woman’s voice and persona most appeals to you.  I can also guarantee that reading either or both will put Bhutan firmly on your must-go list.

Perhaps you will prefer Radio Sangri La because you identify more with the experiences and reactions of Lisa Napoli, whose mid-life crisis in 2007 (so many memoirs grow out of mid life crises, don’t they?) pushes her to accept the challenge of helping to start a radio station in Bhutan. As a journalist helping out in a less developed country, her story is somewhat similar to Jennifer Steil’s adventures in Yemen.)

Bhutan Chili Peppers

Napoli’s hard-driving life working as a news editor for National Public Radio’s Marketplace had driven her to distraction, when she met “a cute guy at a party.” The attraction to the guy was instant. The attraction to Bhutan took a little research, since she was not even sure where it was. Her love affair with Bhutan continues, while the cute guy and she were not fated to be together.

On the other hand, if you want a lasting human romance, southern gal Linda Leaming‘s Married to Bhutan may be the book that takes up permanent residence in your own travel library. She first saw Bhutan in 1994 as part of travel through Asia. She returned yearly, and in 1997 took a volunteer teaching  job and stayed. She starts the book with a chapter that discusses frankly the cultural differences that may startle Americans.

Because of geography, religion, and culture, the average Bhutanese thinks very differently than the average American.  This isn’t good or bad; it just is.  They live at a slower pace. They have built-on bullshit detectors. The are introspective and self-examining and well versed in the geopolitics of the region in which they live.

Specifically, she explains they don’t value punctuality as we do, don’t bother to answer phones and e-mails unless it is convenient, and have a calendar dotted with religious holidays, during which all business stops.

To some extent, the difference in these books comes from the ten years between their first introductions to Bhutan, which despite its isolation, is changing fairly rapidly. Napoli worked in the capital city, Thimpu, surrounded by far more Western influence than the countryside, and she hangs out with ex-pat friends in addition to the Bhutanese she works with. Leaming, who lives in a small rural community, knows almost no one but Bhutanese people. But the biggest difference between the two authors lies in their own personal backgrounds.

From Nashville, Leaming’s writing reflects a Southern vibe–graceful, polite and soft-spoken, even as she is totally realistic about differences.  Her reaction to culture shock often causes her to collapse into tears, and she is as introspective as she says the Bhutanese are–doubting herself every step of the way.

From New York City via a current job in Los Angeles, Napoli comes at the experience with a more hard-edged, cosmopolitan point of view. Her approach is brisk and busy even while she talks about her dislike of the over-scheduled, over-informed modern world she is fleeing.

While some things puzzle Leaming, she almost universally admires all the Bhutanese she meets and assumes she should bend to the local culture. Napoli’s approach is more judgemental, and she does not shy away from telling us, for instance, about a monk who attempts a bit of extortion because he sees a “rich American” as a target.

Together, the books give a well-round view of Bhutan.  I thought I would find much of the same material discussed, but that is not the case. They complement each other as each author chooses different details to paint a picture of the country.

Leaming concludes that she has accepted the Bhutanese sense of time. “If I don’t get it done in this life, then perhaps I shall in the next.”  She falls in love with a man as well as the country, and quite literally marries Bhutan.  Napoli buys herself a traditional Bhutanese wedding ring and says, “I am marrying myself.”

Find Leaming on Facebook and on Twitter (@LindaLeaming)

Find Napoli on Facebook and on Twitter (@lisanapoli)

Learn about Napoli’s contribution to libraries in Bhutan through Read Global at Books to Bhutan.

Going? Book one of  Beth Whitman‘s tours to Bhutan at WanderTours. And thanks so much to Beth for the two photos of Bhutan. She owns the copyright.

And yes, I’m giving away these two volumes to two lucky readers. Just tell me in your comment which one you think you’d most like to have. (By April 13) (Over 18 and American resident, please)

And I have just learned (from Lisa Napoli) that there is yet another new book about Bhutan–this one focusing on trekking, Beneath Blossom Rain: Discovering Bhutan on the Toughest Trek in the World by Kevin Grange.

Has anybody ever gone to Bhutan and NOT written a book about it?

If you choose to purchase one of these books, or anything else that tickles your fancy, after clicking on one of my book links to Amazon, I will make a few cents off of each purchase. Thank you!

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Buddha Statue, Tibet

Destination: Bhutan

Book: The Heart of the Buddha by Elsie Sze (Released October 1, 2009)

When I was younger I wanted very much to go to Bhutan.  I bought a detailed travel book about trekking in Bhutan that included information about the country’s people and history. I never got there and now I am settling in to a different kind of travel, and can only go to these more challenging locations vicariously.

WHAT I LIKED

For that reason, when the publicist sent me a copy, I read The Heart of the Buddha, a  novel/travel book, with  appreciation for the details of daily life, descriptions of the cities, and particularly information about Tantric Buddhism. I appreciated the glossary that allows the author to use the proper Bhutanese words in the narrative and allows me to check the meaning as I read along.

Buddhist Monastery in Tibet

THE PLOT OF THE BOOK

Briefly, a young woman has gone to Bhutan as a librarian, and when she goes missing, her twin sister goes to search for her. Along the way, the first young woman falls in love with a Buddhist monk, they steal into Tibet to obtain a sacred book that belongs to Bhutan, and the sister, following their trail, falls in love with her Bhutanese guide.

WHAT DID NOT WORK

As a novel, The Heart of the Buddha fails to hold my attention.While the plot line has potential, the exposition comes in sodden lumps rather than being scattered seamlessly within dialogue and story. We  constantly get almost apologetic explanations of why some particular action is possible:  something like, “Since he studied the Tibetan language in school, he could pass as a citizen of the country.”

Although at times, the language mimics the hot panting (or is that hot pants?) of a romance novel, it also tries to be a story of  suspense.

Cliff hanger questions are stated boldly and relentlessly. “What did he look like? Would he answer to Marian’s description of him? And the question that worried me most–where was Marian?”  Trust the reader. We kinda know what she is thinking about since she went all the way to Bhutan to find her sister.

The worst thing about the book, though, is the violation of the most sacred principle of story telling–show, don’t tell. Part of the story is told through a written memoir and most of the rest, is related in conversations.  The memoir also contains long passages of dialogue so that there is no difference in style between the supposed memoir and the novel itself.

In the near future, I will be writing about Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Guilliland. I am currently reading this book that serves as a model of how a writer can be a careful researcher, include the tiniest details of daily life plus a broad overview, and still make the writing sparkle. Unfortunately, Ms. Sze is not at that point.

Both photos in this post are courtesy of Bob and Clare Rogers, all rights reserved. Bob and Clare are currently on a bicycle trip across China, Tibet, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. Click on the picture to follow their adventure.

IMPORTANT QUESTION FOR MY READERS: How do you feel about my writing about books I do not recommend? Would you rather that I only tell you about recommended books, or do you want the bad apples as well? I am particularly interested in your reply because I currently have on my coffee table a book about a very interesting place that I simply cannot slog through–despite the fact that it has been recommended by lots of people in high places. (The authors have a lot of friends.) So do you think I should discuss books like that, too?

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©2012 A Traveler's Library. All Rights Reserved.