And Other Stories

One of my main hobbies is photographing butterflies. Right now, I’m a shade over 300 species on my Life List, and on my recent trip to Bhutan, I even added a few new ones.

Finding This Book in Bhutan

While perusing a bookstore in Thimphu, I stumbled across this book of short stories and knew it was meant for me. After reading the titular story, “In Love with Butterflies” by Sonam Tashi, however, I realized that his version of “butterflies” was actually prostitutes, so that brought it down a peg. Good story, but maybe no longer in the “meant for me” category.

Still, this was an entertaining and instructive collection of stories with a unique approach. Two authors with journalism backgrounds share these pages, offering up 15 stories each about Bhutan’s underbelly—daily experiences of the average Bhutanese, sometimes in illegal trades, sometimes in love, but always with an honesty that leads me to believe that not every story here is fiction.

The stories in this book reflect a rapidly changing Bhutan, where old values are dying as people consume more and pursue material success. They capture the society in rapid flux. (Gopilal Acharya in the Foreword, 1-2)

A Little about the Book First

While most stories are set in Phuentsholing—the Bhutanese town just across the border from Jaigaon, India—some are also set in Thimphu, Paro, Pukhara and further afield in places that were new to me. It was nice reading this book after having just visited the country, while Bhutan’s culture, people, weather, and food were still fresh in my mind.

One caveat that needs mentioning is that these authors are likely not native English speakers and their editors weren’t either. I had to remind myself of this regularly, whenever I found typos or illogical plot points. Of course, they’ve done us a favor by not publishing this in Dzongkha, so read it with grace and don’t nitpick. I think you’ll find some worthwhile stories here.

The remainder of this review will tackle the book story-by-story, sometimes with lengthier comments, sometimes with a simple rating.

15 Stories by Sonam Tashi

1. “The King of Cartel” – I wondered if this story about a smuggling ring with an unlikely leader would set the tone for the whole book. The development was natural, and not much Bhutanese background was needed to understand it. I enjoyed this introductory story—funny but not.

2. “A Bottle of Promises” – This is an incredibly sad tale of alcoholism and loss. It feels true. Too true.

3-4. “The Entrapped – I” and “The Entrapped – II” – This two-part story is all about corruption on a grand scale. The main character is a journalist again, so I do wonder how much of these stories are based in truth. 

5. “In Love with Butterflies” – Oh! Perhaps I am more innocent than I thought. As mentioned above, I bought this book because I too love butterflies…but apparently I didn’t know about the butterflies that flutter in the hotel near the bus station in Jaigaon. And neither did Kinzang, until he found one. And he would give anything to find one again.

6. “A Rose for Her” – This was of a sad journal entry than a short story. Some things shouldn’t be published prehumously (to coin a word), the depressing thoughts of a guy who doesn’t date much and is too selfishly blinded to understand why is just one example. It’s not a good look.

7. “Paradox of the Howling Dog” – Superstitions are often illogical. Sometimes, however, bad omen can have another, more logical, more positive explanation. That’s what we find in this story.

8. “The Sixth Man” – This one was hard to follow. I was not a fan.

9. “The ‘Devil of Love’” – Once again, I felt that this story was likely a true event from the author’s youth. At least this one has a beginning, middle, and end befitting a good short story.

10. “The Ruffian—Story of Wangyel” – The frontmatter of this book says explicitly: “This book is the product of imagination of the authors. Any resemblance to any actual person, place and even is coincidental.” I wonder how true that is, since this story definitely appears to be an memory with details changed hardly at all. It makes me wonder how many of my own memories (or yours) could be published this way. I guess that’s a great thing about reading short stories—they often cause the reader to consider anecdotes from his own experience. It’s an exercise in recognition. I enjoyed this line from the story:

I always believe that our youth are solutions for ever adversity in the country, if guided properly. (69)

11. “The King and the Two Pundits” – Here we have an interesting fable that could stem from almost any kingdom on earth. if only a few small details were tweaked. I liked it.

12. “The Mistaken Marriage” – OK. This story informs me a little bit about the marriage rites and processes in Bhutan,  but I still don’t really get it. If this story is about an unwed couple who shared a ton—then I guess that sort of makes sense. In that case, they married for the sole sake of getting a divorce, so the courts could figure out to split their possessions. I doubt that’s the norm in Bhutan, but then again, I’m easily mistaken.

13. “The Rise of Kipchu” – Like Sonam’s first story in this batch, this one was humorous, but also not. It’s all about greed at the expense of others…and perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised that the villain is a Chinaman. The Bhutanese I met didn’t seem to be big fans of the Chinese.

14. “The Chosen One” – This was the sweetest story of the lot yet, though it was wordy and contained a bit too many frivolous details. It’s a warm, common story of flirting and minor relationships in school—and of jilted love, aging, and waiting for the right moment to meet “The Chose One. “

15. “Candles in the Wind” – This final story from Sonam is a sad love letter to a long departed mother. Our tour guide told us that women were more respected in Bhutan than men, and that they also tended to be the strongest in the family. This story contains some cultural impressions of funerals and culture, and it’s a warm second-person story of loss.

15 Stories by Riku Dhan Suba

1. “She, I, and Lazy” – I felt this was an odd story to begin this writer’s collection. Its another look at the thoughts of a single man chasing a beautiful woman, only to find out she’s not available. Looking at the biographies of these two married fellas in the back of the book, I imagine they wrote most of these stories when they were young and horny. It’s normal to want your stories published, but most of us turn that page and want to forget those earlier, pitiful years of longing.

Now that I get a glimpse of this second author too, I now really wonder why they chose this title and this cover to summarize their works. It seems a really odd choice. Granted, I bought the book because of the cover, but I’m not really the average male reader, and that’s definitely their target audience! Unless these stories were meant for women…but then I wonder if most women enjoy reading about the desperate attempts of twenty-something males trying to find love. I kind of doubt it.

2. “Chadi’s Child” – This was an incredibly painful, difficult story to read. It involves rape, shame, and the corruption of a ”minister.” It’s a disgusting story that unveils a deep cultural sickness. It one of those necessary-evil stories that shines light into the darkness, exposing evil. Hard.

3. “To Be Good Again” – In enjoyed this good, moral tale—a living metaphor of redemption.

4. “An Affair of a Love Letter Writer” – Other than the inclusion of a 33-year-old slob drinking beer, this story might as well have been written by a high schooler in love—a high schooler who needs an editor. It reminded of Ben Shapiro’s weak attempt at story writing in What’s Fair? (2015).

5. “When VIP Visits a Remote School” – Here we have another very true-to-life story about keeping up appearances for the sake of an important visitor. I loved the detail of the school shutting down the toilets so they wouldn’t stink, while making the kids go dangerously close to the mountainside to relieve themselves. It’s such a true description of the façade that so many institutions in developing countries must wear. Silly how they pander. I wonder how I foolishly pander too…

6. “Umplingpas and Their High Ghos” – This was a semi-humorous travelogue of a journalist and a villager as they trek to the village of Umling. Through it all, the writer learned the secret of why they wear their traditional dress, the gho, so high above the knees.

7. “Knowing His Woman” – This day-in-the-life story is a like a snapshot of romance in the city of Thimphu. I’m not exactly sure of the point, but that’s ok for a cultural historian. I sometimes struggle with stories that have no apparent point (that’s probably obvious by now)—yet this might be my favorite from Riku Dhan Suba so far.

8. “In Search of His MP” – Here’s another story without a point, another random memory from the past masquerading as literature. Not a fan.

9. “Complete Strangers” – This story was funny, but also a little sadistic. I think maybe next time the dude should stop and do a little window shopping instead of scaring a girl half to death.

10. “A Carnal Journey” – This story delivers pretty much what the title suggests. It’s a bit surprising, the sexuality mentioned here, because Bhutan did not at all seem like a “sexy” country where people have flings with strangers. Of course, Bhutan was one of the weirdest places I’ve ever visited, in that human phalluses are used a decoration, paintings of them plastered everywhere around the country. Maybe I’m wrong about their exploits. Humans are humans. It just didn’t more conservative than this story reveals.

11. “The Art Lesson” – OK, this was a fitting short story, I think because of its circular structure. It’s feel good story that with a few tweaks could be great. The stingy librarian must be a cultural thing.

12. “A Beggar’s Blessing” – This was an interesting travelogue of a first-time traveler from Bhutan into Indian. I liked these lines:

The world is what it is, uneven, alternating, and life is a long journey with humdrum passing moments of life and death, of light and darkness, and of joys and sorrows. (172)

And this is the first thing he learned in India—to ignore, to deny. (174)

13. “A Poor Rich Man” – This was a nice quick anecdote from the street about wealth and appearances.  

14. “The Joy That the Sky Cannot Hold” – This was a cute story about childhood, but I don’t understand why it’s couched the way it is. It’s about a 6-year-old’s dance performance; but it comes from two dudes talking about it over whiskey. It’s just a weird, unnecessary layer.

15. “A Father’s Love” – The final story in the collection is a another sweet memory from childhood and another unique look at village life in Bhutan, polygamy and all.

Conclusion

While I learned a great deal about Bhutan during my travels simply by listening and watching, story books like this and Ghost Stories from Bhutan by Lingchen Dorji (2025) also help fill in some of the blanks with more down-to-earth details about beliefs and day-to-day living.

I’m enjoying the adventure of learning about this small Kingdom, but I’ve still got so much to learn. Thankfully, I’ve also still got a small stack of books to help me do just that!

©2025 E.T.