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The Circle of Karma
Kunzang Choden
Novel, 2005
Follows a rural woman from eastern Bhutan on a pilgrimage through a country slowly changing, showing Buddhist belief, gender roles and village life.
Books set in Bhutan
Four books that put you in Bhutan. Three are by writers from Bhutan and set there, starting with The Circle of Karma and Treasures of the Thunder Dragon: A Portrait of Bhutan. The other is a wider pick, by someone who knows the place well.
About the literature of Bhutan
Bhutanese fiction in English is young, but it draws on centuries of Buddhist writing and folk storytelling. Religious and historical works were long written in classical Tibetan, while folktales and songs passed by word of mouth in the country's many languages. Dzongkha is the national language, but English has been the language of schooling since the 1960s, so most Bhutanese books found abroad are in English.
Expect themes of karma, faith, family and village life, and of a kingdom changing fast: television only arrived in 1999. Start with Kunzang Choden's The Circle of Karma, which follows a woman's journey from her village across Bhutan and beyond. Karma Ura's The Hero with a Thousand Eyes is a historical novel based on the life of a royal courtier, and Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck's Treasures of the Thunder Dragon blends memoir and travel writing.
By writers from Bhutan
Treasures of the Thunder Dragon: A Portrait of Bhutan
Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck
Memoir, 2006
A royal family member's memoir of Bhutanese traditions, festivals, religion and the country's gradual modernisation.
The Hero with a Thousand Eyes
Karma Ura
Novel, 1995
A Bhutanese scholar's novel rooted in the country's rural society, Buddhist values and historical memory.
Wider picks
By long-time residents and outsiders who know the place well, or folk tales, poetry and history with a strong feel for Bhutan.
Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan
Jamie Zeppa
Memoir, 1999
Wider pick: By a Canadian who taught and lived in Bhutan for years
A memoir of teaching in remote eastern villages in the 1980s, showing daily life, schools, festivals and change in a young kingdom.
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