Murray Gunn (1)
Autor von Dragon Bones: Two Years Beneath the Skin of a Himalayan Kingdom
Andere Autoren mit dem Namen Murray Gunn findest Du auf der Unterscheidungs-Seite.
Werke von Murray Gunn
Getagged
Wissenswertes
- Geburtstag
- 20th century
- Geschlecht
- male
- Nationalität
- Australia
- Geburtsort
- Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Ausbildung
- University of New South Wales (BE), Macquarie University (MAA)
- Berufe
- information technology manager
anthropologist
memoirist - Kurzbiographie
I grew up in Sydney, Australia, in a family that considered international guests a matter of course and took an interest in cultures from an early age. I began travelling at 16 with a short exchange to Japan with Labo and later spent a year in Japan as the AFS Sydney Nagoya Sister City Scholar. The AFS values of peace and understanding and the exchange student’s motto ‘it’s not right, it’s not wrong, it’s just different’ have guided me through life. In 1998, I began travelling in earnest, living and working in Japan, Belgium and Bhutan, collecting stories and trying to understand the why of behaviours in different cultures.
Along the way I found a passion for writing and began sharing my experiences by email, this blog and travel articles. My first published book, Dragon Bones, is soon to be released in Asia (Dec 2010), US/UK/Europe (Feb 2011) and Oz/NZ (Mar 2011).
Having lived and travelled in developing countries, I have seen the damage done by outsiders imposing their values on local cultures. I strongly believe in the need for people to identify their own problems and determine their own solutions. I do what I can to support local organisations in their efforts.
I am currently back in Australia, studying a Masters of Applied Anthropology. I volunteer with AFS and continue to learn by hosting young cultural explorers. As soon as I can, I will head back out into the world to help local organisations and collect stories for more books.
Mitglieder
Rezensionen
Diese Rezension wurde für LibraryThing Early Reviewers geschrieben.A lovely book, if a little disjointed in places, about a place I knew very little about.
Diese Rezension wurde für LibraryThing Early Reviewers geschrieben.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.
Diese Rezension wurde für LibraryThing Early Reviewers geschrieben.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.… (mehr)
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.… (mehr)
Statistikseite
- Werke
- 1
- Mitglieder
- 37
- Beliebtheit
- #390,572
- Bewertung
- 2.8
- Rezensionen
- 22
- ISBNs
- 4
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.… (mehr)