An Australian newly-wed moves to Bhutan to be with his French wife. It is a quite a culture shock, especially with Bhutan still being fairly unknown to the outside world.

The book is written in a series of chunks, in chronological order, covering Gunn's day-to-day interactions with the Bhutanese - a new rhythm of life, different customs, slow internet and almost impenetrable bureaucracy. While I had already read a little about the small country and, like the author, seen the series "Himalaya" with Michael Palin, but I had no idea about the situation of the Southern Bhutanese, caught between two countries, neither of which accept them.

Gunn and his wife, Dominique, slowly become accustomed to life in the remote kingdom, where Dominique is working on a livestock project. Her husband is left trying keep his work going and carve out his own living. Understandably, the recently married couple experience problems of their own as they try and get used to living together, both being strong characters. There is a brutal honesty in the text, as cracks start to appear in their relationship.

It is an interesting read, though at times I wish Gunn had gone into more detail as some of the sections seemed to end abruptly, though the book is a good jumping off point. ( )

A lovely book, if a little disjointed in places, about a place I knew very little about. ( )

I looked forward to ready this book because it is a country that I know very little about. I enjoyed parts of the book it was very honest and showed an outside view to a very old country. However it was like reading a disjointed personal journal.

In Dragon Bones, Murray Gunn and his wife Dominique move to Bhutan for two years to pursue Dominique's career. The two years are full of challenges and hardship, but also many opportunities to get to know the Bhutanese people and culture more intimately.

Since I don't know much about Bhutan, I was very interested to read this book and learn more of the country. In this regard, the story didn't disappoint. Bhutan turned out to be a land of many controversies and opportunities. The short chapters were easy to read and kept my interest up throughout the book.

There were some problems too, though. I felt like some of the time Gunn allowed the reader to get a little bit too close for comfort to his relationship with his wife. I also wished that he descriptions of the landscape and culture would have been more detailed, to better get the sense of "being there" in Bhutan myself. ( )

Murray Gunn's account of his two years in Bhutan is engaging but ultimately lacks depth.

Gunn moves to Bhutan to be with his new French wife and the book covers his experiences of working and travelling in Bhutan. At the same time, its an account of his marriage. I think this may be where my difficulty with the book comes - is the focus the experience of the country or the experience of the relationship?

Many of the vignettes of daily life are well drawn, and you do get a sense of who Murray is. I'd have like more detail about the country, and less of the frustrations of daily life. That said, Gunn has a nice style, and draws the reader in. If he continues to write, I'm sure this personable style can develop, and perhaps a future account of travels where he has less emotional stress will be a more rewarding read. ( )