Name: Eat the Buddha
Rating: 3.923076923076923 (13 reviews)
ISBN: 9780812998757

Barbara Demick

The new book by award-winning journalist and National Book Award finalist Barbara Demick.

Life and Death in a Tibetan Town

Eat the Buddha

altlovesbooks

”when the iron bird flies and horses run on wheels, the Tibetan people will be scattered like ants across the world.”


I love nonfiction books about places the average person doesn’t get to see, or about stories/history people really should know about. I did a deep dive on books about North Korea after I read Barbara Demick’s Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea, and when I saw she wrote a book about Tibet I decided to make that my next read. It was a good choice.

In this book, Demick tells the story of Ngaba, a small Tibetan town that, through the actions of its people, becomes a center of resistance to Chinese occupation. Through the stories of ordinary Tibetans, Demick shows the devastating impact of Chinese policy on Tibetan lives, including the destruction of monasteries, the suppression of religion, and the forced assimilation of Tibetan culture. The author made three trips in total to Ngaba, and interviewed many Tibetans from there and surrounding areas to tell their stories. Their points of view vary widely, but each of their stories is handled with compassion, empathy, and a desire to make sure their stories are heard. 

This book really tugged at my heartstrings in places. I loved how Demick took the varied stories from these people and turned it into a compelling narrative framework that also allowed her to talk about the history and struggles of these people. It was one of the things that made her book about North Korea such a great read, and I was delighted to see that the same was true here.

Well-written, informative, and provides valuable perspective into the Tibetan people’s struggle for freedom. Highly recommend.

Nico J

"Nothing to Envy" sits on my shelf, currently in view, and after reading this I requested "Logavina Street" and that's sitting near me now. Tibet has always been a region/country/AR/topic that feels intriguing and opaque and riddled with mystery - from my limited knowledge and perspective, this felt like a fantastic introduction to the history and culture of such. It weaves a fraught tale that also has the slight pace of an adventure through time while respecting and honoring the traditions within the culture it's about. Somehow, though, the struggle feels eternal - the story of conquest by hegemonies and world superpowers, and how insidious that really is. Amid skirmishes and rebellions there are quiet tactics - of snatching people away from families and eroding religious and cultural mainstays - that have existed throughout history as one place imposes on another and persist today. Overall, it's heartbreakingly informative. The idea that borders can be so immovable and also so flimsy in this century is definitely something to muse on.

Self-immolation. It's difficult to wrap my head around and it makes me think of (and I believe it's mentioned in there) of how it spreads as a virus, becomes a spate of them and doesn't remain an isolated incident, not unlike suicides in other countries. The notes at the end were also incredibly informative and I wonder if they're up on a website because it would be a useful way to research more about a history I still feel I don't know enough about.

Eat the Buddha Life and Death in a Tibetan Town

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