The Hero with a Thousand Eyes: A Historical Novel

by Karma Ura

Book by Karma Ura

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

382 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Marsha Altman · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title makes it sound much cooler than it is.

The book concerns a fictional minister of Bhutan, born in the 1930's and serving under three different kings. This isn't so much a story as a historical narrative of Bhutanese political and culture life from that period until the late 70's. The main character isn't very interesting or likeable. He works hard, he sleeps with married women, he has his dad pull strings to get the woman divorced and married to him, then he repeats with another woman.

Most of the book isn't concerned with the main character as much as the work he does and the speeches he listens to or gives, most of which involve exciting concepts like inventory and royal administration. The author devotes - I kid you not - an entire chapter to the discussion of tax reform in the 1950's, as well as several other chapters to "state of the union" style speeches that are probably accurate to real ones given in that time but weren't even interesting to the people actually there to hear them.

I should mention that the author works for the Ministry of Planning in the current Royal Government, so this book doesn't say anything bad about Bhutan or any of the neighbors it does business with. Every king is a great guy, other countries treat them with respect, and the peasants are happy that the tax system works fairly for everyone. There's a long parade of names of awesome ministers who were great and had everyone's best interests at heart except some of them liked to drink. When there's some actual intrigue with people fleeing the country or an attempt on the life of the king with a bomb, the book never explains the grievances of the rebels, just lets the events naturally fade out. The main character is accused of spying several times but no specifics are given and it all just goes away after a few months of house arrest. One of the kings has to keep going to Switzerland for medical treatment but they never say what's wrong with him and that he smoked like a chimney probably didn't help. I'm not saying that the real Bhutan is a terrible place and this is a piece of propaganda, but it certainly isn't well-rounded in its portrayal of the complexities of the kingdom.

If you want to read historical fiction about Bhutan in English, this is the book for you, because it is the only book of this nature that I can find. Otherwise, don't waste your time. And if you figure out who the hero with a thousand eyes is, let me know, because it's certainly not our philandering narrator.

[Clare · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this book in the airport in Thimphu (returning from a wonderful trip to Bhutan) and have worked on reading it over the past two years. The author is a lama and retired government official and not a professional writer, so the writing is very uneven and in many places, painfully dull. Because the subject is so unique and the perspective of the memoirist is so granular, there is interest in reading parts of it for those interested in Himalayan culture, history and politics. It is possible to dive into a very special world for a few hours to gain a glimmer of what life was like in early-mid 20th century Bhutan as a pre-modern monarchy. There is something in the assured and solid voice of the narrator that might lead one to imagine that something is lost in the hectic life of modern, capital democracies. However, I am sure a lot is left unsaid about oppression in the older social order in which obedience and loyalty are the coin of the realm.

[DesertSlug · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for my reading-of-the-world project (Bhutan). This is a historical novel based on actual events of what it was like to live in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. The book is very informative - including a chronology of historic events and a glossary of terms. It's an excellent read for anyone interested in a deeper understanding of Bhutanese history. However, the flow of the story in many ways is actually hampered by the depth of information. There are some chapters that a reader could probably skip and the plot would flow better. The book is worth the time for anyone looking for a good book from Bhutan, but it may not be worth the time for someone looking for a gripping historical novel.

[Singye Phuntsho]

knowlege

[Lhendup · Rating 5 out of 5]

I the novel is so gud that can inpire us to be best of best of our own.

[Pema Namdrel]

It is a historical novel wriiten by Dasho Karma Ura. It is all about the Shingkhar Lam's service and contributions under the three successive kings of Bhutan i.e. 2nd, 3rd and 4th king.

[Nicole Kroger Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

#readtheworld Bhutan

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mildly interesting description of court life in Bhutan. There is neither a real story nor plot, the book is a memoir of a courtier's life story and a description of Bhutanese society through his eyes. The introduction recommended to skip the chapters on the Bhutanese tax system, which I did rather gratefully. The book lacked a real characterisation or emotional depth, it is mostly a list of events as they happened to the main character. A different writing style would have elevated this story significantly, however it was a mildly interesting window into Bhutanese society, which was the point of me reading the book after all.

[Val · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bhutan

[Peter Banks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good ethnographically, tougher going as literature.