Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town
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Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town
by Barbara Demick (Goodreads Author)
4.12 · Rating details · 1,281 ratings · 200 reviews
Just as she did with North Korea, award-winning journalist Barbara Demick explores one of the most hidden corners of the world. She tells the story of a Tibetan town perched eleven thousand feet above sea level that is one of the most difficult places in all of China for foreigners to visit. Ngaba was one of the first places where the Tibetans and the Chinese Communists encountered one another. In the 1930s, Mao Zedong’s Red Army fled into the Tibetan plateau to escape their adversaries in the Chinese Civil War. By the time the soldiers reached Ngaba, they were so hungry that they looted monasteries and ate religious statues made of flour and butter—to Tibetans, it was as if they were eating the Buddha. Their experiences would make Ngaba one of the engines of Tibetan resistance for decades to come, culminating in shocking acts of self-immolation.
Eat the Buddha spans decades of modern Tibetan and Chinese history, as told through the private lives of Demick’s subjects, among them a princess whose family is wiped out during the Cultural Revolution, a young Tibetan nomad who becomes radicalized in the storied monastery of Kirti, an upwardly mobile entrepreneur who falls in love with a Chinese woman, a poet and intellectual who risks everything to voice his resistance, and a Tibetan schoolgirl forced to choose at an early age between her family and the elusive lure of Chinese money. All of them face the same dilemma: Do they resist the Chinese, or do they join them? Do they adhere to Buddhist teachings of compassion and nonviolence, or do they fight?
Illuminating a culture that has long been romanticized by Westerners as deeply spiritual and peaceful, Demick reveals what it is really like to be a Tibetan in the twenty-first century, trying to preserve one’s culture, faith, and language against the depredations of a seemingly unstoppable, technologically all-seeing superpower. Her depiction is nuanced, unvarnished, and at times shocking. (less)
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Hardcover, 368 pages
Published July 28th 2020 by Random House
Original TitleEat the Buddha
ISBN0812998758 (ISBN13: 9780812998757)
Edition LanguageEnglish
Literary AwardsThe Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction Nominee for Longlist (2020)
Other Editions (11)
Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town
Eat the Buddha: The Story of Modern Tibet Through the People of One Town
Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town
Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town
Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town
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Jenna
Sep 05, 2020Jenna rated it liked it
Shelves: history, non-fiction
Tibet hills and mountains, by abogada samoana. Wikimedia Commons
Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town is an up close account of the Tibetan people told through the stories of several individuals. Beginning with a short history of Tibet up until the Chinese invasion in 1950, journalist Barbara Demick then delves into the lives of ordinary Tibetans during the Chinese occupation.
What follows is devastating, as we learn how the Chinese took control of Tibetans lives, seeking to wipe out their unique culture and religion.
Ms. Demick tells the personal stories of several Tibetans. She takes us inside their lives, portraying the richness of Tibetan culture and the indomitable spirit of the Tibetan people.
While I found this book semi-interesting, it felt dry at times and repetitive at times. I was intrigued in the beginning, especially reading about the childhood of the princess Gonpo, daughter of a local 'gyalpo', "king" in Tibetan.
I initially enjoyed the stories of some of the others too but they all just seemed to meld together after awhile.
Chapters begin with photographs of the people and places, and this was perhaps my favourite part of the book.
I disliked that many of the pages were devoted to describing self immolation and talking about those who performed this shocking act. It is horrific and it shows just how desperate some Tibetans are for freedom and to have the Dalai Lama return from exile. Important as that is, I think much less could have been written about it. Once mentioned, the author returns to the subject many times. On one hand, I think it is essential to remember these people; on the other, one chapter would have sufficed without further mentioning.
For instance, the word "immolation" is used 62 times in the book, not including notes - and there are 275 pages of text, not including the notes and glossary sections. The words "immolate" and "immolator" are each used 19 times. That's a total of 100 for just 275 pages. I do not think it was necessary to discuss this ghastly and most desperate of acts so much. It was disturbing, to say the least.
I'm glad I read this book because I learned more about Tibet. However, I was equally glad when it ended. Relieved, actually. (less)
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Lisa
Jun 20, 2020Lisa rated it it was ok
Shelves: net-galley
My thanks to Random House, Barbara Demick and Netgalley.
I will confess that I didn't like this. That annoyed me!
I did expect to like this. I didn't.
I have no excuses nor explanations. I hated this book. Not the area or zip!! Just this book. (less)
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PorshaJo
Sep 03, 2020PorshaJo rated it it was ok
Shelves: challengereads, challengereads-2020, audio
Rating 2.5
Oh this one pains me so much. I can't tell you how excited I was to have a new book by Barbara Demick. I read her earlier book on North Korea and really liked it. I begged my library for this and when the copy came in via audio I jumped on it. I will say the rating is based on the star of 'it's OK'. I'll just say this one was probably not for me.
Eat the Buddha focuses on the history and lives of the Tibetan people. It really is a heart breaking story. The author focuses on Ngaba, which is one of the first places where the Tibetans and the Chinese Communists encountered one another. You hear about the culture, the stories of the people, the history over many, many years. The people are truly amazing and to learn of their culture is fascinating.
It's just I found it a bit boring. Now, I will say I listened to it via audio and a book like this is probably best where there is a lot of history, facts, names thrown out, print might work better. The narrator, Cassandra Campbell, is a fabulous narrator. Hence, the bit of a higher rating. Now, why did I find it boring? A book I read awhile ago, Seven Years in Tibet was amazing and I heard about the Tibetan people, their culture, the Dalai Llama (the book is also mentioned in this book) and I really enjoyed that book. Since then, I've been very interested in reading what I can around this area and the history. Perhaps for me, that one is still in my mind and I know I shouldn't compare. I'll just say this one didn't work for me. I will read more from this author in the future.....perhaps I'll just shoot for the print and not compare it to other books. (less)
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Hadrian
Aug 04, 2020Hadrian rated it really liked it
Shelves: history, china, nonfiction, tibet
TOGETHER WE WILL BUILD A BEAUTIFUL HOME. BEND LOW. LISTEN TO WHAT PEOPLE SAY
-Government-sponsored poster
Ngaba County in the northern part of Sichuan is in the author's terms the "world capital of self-immolations". In shaky cellphone video, there is footage of those who have set themselves afire, breaking their own religious proscriptions against suicide, often wrapping themselves in thick blankets and swallowing gasoline before so they'd burn completely. About a third are from Ngaba.
Ngaba. a town with 70,000 residents, is small by the standards of China. The first traffic light was installed in the 2010s. Demick, a bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, has made three separate visits, concealing her face to make her interviews. She must resort to this because the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region is almost totally off-limits for foreign journalists, but visiting a majority-Tibetan town in an 'Autonomous Prefecture' in Sichuan is at least possible.
Her book became a history of the town and a close examination of the relationships between the Chinese Communist Party and Tibet. The first encounter was under extreme and difficult circumstances. In the early 1930s, the Communist forces were on the run from the Nationalists under Chiang Kai-Shek. The Communists were driven nearly to starvation. They boiled and ate the skin off drums. They ate the statues of offering to the Buddha, some made of wax and butter. This act of total sacrilege was the start of a volatile and distrustful relationship.
What stops this book from being just another story, just another repeating of the bloody catalog of oppression is the detail in the memories of those Tibetans Demick interviews. One elderly woman remembers seeing a Chinese car for the first time when she was a young girl. She thought it was an animal and tried to feed it grass. There were some times of cautious trust and opening up, but these are interrupted by periods of intense suffering and terror.
Those who self-immolate today were not the first to protest against Chinese rule. In 1958 - a year so bad it is simply referred to as '58' in Tibetan or 'the time when earth and sky changed places', the nomads were forced into cooperative living and their herds of animals were confiscated. This was part of the vast failed experiment in industrialization known as the Great Leap Forward. The more nomadic Tibetans were wholly dependent on those animals for everything, and so they were forced into total poverty. Many thousands died.
Ngaba today is removed somewhat from that in the past - the streets are cleaner, there are some amenities. It looks cleaner and more prosperous than its neighbors. Perhaps some of the local party officials had tried to invest in it as an offset to local grievances. Images of the Dalai Lama are prohibited - the author had a Lonely Planet Book confiscated because of it. Monasteries that were demolished have been rebuilt, but they're under heavy surveillance. One Tibetan businessman laments that he's wealthier now but he's still not free.
When Demick speaks to the locals, their demands seem almost modest - passports for external travel, and more Tibetan-language education. But given the crushing treatment to other groups in recent years, and state policy of enforced control, that seems unlikely. The Party Secretary of Xinjiang, Chen Quanguo from 2016 onwards was previously Party Secretary of Tibet. Demick says the level of terror for the Tibetans here echoes North Korea, and she can get away with saying this as she's interviewed enough North Koreans to write a book on it.
This is a heartbreaking story; the Tibetans now seem overlooked by the rest of the world, while the party-state would surveil their every word and thought. (less)
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Geoffrey
Apr 06, 2020Geoffrey rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: nonfiction, history, journalistic-reads
(Note: I received an advanced reader copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley)
Through interviews with various Tibetans from in and around the town of Ngaba on the eastern reaches of the Tibetan Plateau, Barbara Demick is able to provide a multi-layered look into a region that has long been obscured by both an official Chinese state media system focused on projecting a global image of national harmony and Orientalizing westerners who imagine a land that is not much more beyond religious mysticism and monks. First of all, said interviews provide a detailed dive into the many changes and upheavals that the town of Ngaba and its surrounding environs has experienced over the last several decades. This regional history, in turn, serves as a microcosm for the history of greater Tibet, which the author takes care to cover specifically when necessary. Along with all of the historical coverage leading up through to the current times, all of the interviewed individuals collectively reveal just how much being a Tibetan in the present-day People’s Republic means enduring a conflicted existence, where they increasingly feel like they can either partake in the development and rising standard of living enjoyed by most citizens of China, be a distinct people who can openly embrace their culture and faith, but not both.
Demick’s work is as informative as it is eye-opening. For all those who wish to know what the present day is like for the ever-pressured Tibetan people, I cannot possibly recommend this book enough. (less)
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Jill Dobbe
Apr 22, 2020Jill Dobbe rated it it was amazing
An exceptionally well-written book that portrays the ideals of Tibetan culture and what Tibetans did to survive under Chinese rule in a way that was honorable, insightful and genuine.
I was drawn to this book as a result of visiting Dharamsala, India, in 2010. While there I learned about Tibetans in exile. I visited the home of the Dalai Llama and the beautiful Buddhist monasteries. Noted the many storefronts displaying FREE TIBET banners. I even marched in a silent vigil in support of the Tibetan people. Eat the Buddha gives a thorough and interesting account of the history of China overtaking Tibet, the powerlessness of the Tibetans against the Chinese, the lack of freedom they still suffer today, and the Chinese suppression of the Dalai Llama and Buddhist religion.
I especially found Demick's individual accounts of notable Tibetans to be honorable and written with compassion. She detailed how they suffered through abuse, poverty, hunger and loss of their families. Tibetans were jailed for the smallest infractions and Tibetan youth resorted to self-immolation as a way to show their religious devotion and their sacrifice for democracy.
A mesmerizing book that enthralls the readers and gives them a look into a noble and self-sacrificing culture. I was brought back to all I had experienced while in Dharamsala. Through the author's writing, I couldn't help but feel the beauty, compassion and peacefulness of the Tibetan and Buddhist culture that I witnessed all those years ago. Thank you Barbara Demick for taking me back there and helping me understand the Tibetan culture even more.
Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review Eat the Buddha. (less)
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abby
Aug 02, 2020abby rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: history, nonfiction
"As context, the estimated death toll of 300,000 Tibetans during this period is greater than the massacre in Nanjing by Japanese occupying troops, for which the Chinese government insisted on repeated apologies. Except... the Chinese government has never apologized.
Well, I think it's safe to say the Chinese government isn't going to like this book very much.
I have to admit I didn't know a lot about Tibet or its history before I picked up this book. I'd heard of the Dalai Lama, sure, but only through Hollywood stars I (perhaps unfairly) judged to care only for causes vapid and inconsequential. The plight of the Tibetan people is one many of us have heard of but of which few know the details. This book introduced me to the brutal persecution of an ethnic minority by their government. It has lasted nearly a century and shows no signs of ending.
The first meeting of the Tibetan people and the Chinese Communist Party did not go well. It was the 1930s and the Red Army was in retreat from Chiang Kai-shek and some troops found themselves on the Tibetan plateau, which seemed to them like a strange planet full of people who did not look, live, worship or eat like them. The Communists introduced themselves to the locals by stealing all their food. They literally ate icons of the Buddha made of a flour paste, hence "Eat the Buddha."
Tibetans had never experienced famine before. They had a centuries old system of nomads and farmers, each trading for barley and animal products respectively. But, thanks to the CCP, they would come to know hunger quite well. Mao insisted Tibetan society remake itself in the "Han Chinese way" in the new socialist world order. The diet staples of milk and cheese were brushed away as oddities and Tibetans were called to collectively farm crops that couldn't survive the climate.
"The nomads were made to hand over animals to the collectives that didn't know how to keep them alive, and to farm land that would never produce crops."
Tibetans measured wealth in animals and horses that died in battle were counted as casualties. Mao's Great Leap Forward took away the only richness they had known and told them to be glad they were now free.
Even after the decades of suffering, the modern Tibetan people say they could accept Chinese rule, if the government would stop maligning the Dalai Lama. I don't think it's unfair to say the CCP is *obsessed* with the Dalai Lama. He is the intense focus of CCP propaganda. Tibetans are warned not to get sucked into the "Dalai Clique." Tibetans were denied passports just to keep them away from the influence of the Dalai Lama. Those who attempt travel to where he lives in exile have to pay $10,000 to human smugglers to cross the border into Nepal whereas Han Chinese can fly to Kathmandu for $250. Easing up on the Dalai Lama might improve Chinese-Tibetan relations, the CCP seems unwilling to let go.
Overall, this book is a fascinating insight into the Tibetan people and the history of their conflict with the ruling CCP. One thing I love about Barbara Demick's books is that they are just so readable. If you're a reader accustomed to fiction and finds nonfiction a slog, try one of Demick's books.
"Eat the Buddha" is not quite as good as the author's previous work "Nothing to Envy," which is one of my all time favorites but still very much recommended. (less)
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Tony
Aug 19, 2020Tony added it
Shelves: tibet
The Tibetans tried to get the British to recognize their independence, but ended up having to settle for a deal that gave China the rights of "suzerainty," which had the advantage of being a term that nobody quite understood.
And things got worse from there.
The Chinese took the Tibetans' yaks, busted up their kingdoms, and razed monasteries. The Dali Lama fled to India. The Chinese mandated that crops should be grown which could not be grown there, in that Mao way of theirs. Some Tibetans starved, others were killed outright. Passports went the way of free speech. Infused, instead, were Han Chinese, who took what jobs there were.
That's the short version, and a disappointment I'm sure for those who think that no country is as malign as the United States.
The author's earlier book on North Korea, Nothing to Envy, I thought was really well done. But this one left me confused. One Tibetan would go through trials and tribulations trying to get across the gorge to Nepal and onward to the Tibetan exile community in India. Another Tibetan decides one afternoon to go to India . . . and just does.
The author gets our sympathy aroused about the treatment of the Tibetans by the Chinese. Then she relates the exiled Tibetans who want to go back, now that things are better.
And, I was led to believe that the author would tell of the outback of Tibet, the Tibet Autonomous Zone, but her focus instead was on the town of Ngaba. Here's a map of Western China (Tibet):
That's a long hike from the Autonomous Zone to Ngaba, across deserts and three major rivers.
Not that Ngaba isn't important to the story. That's where, for instance, the majority of self-immolations by monks occur. Here:
The Chinese brag that they broke up the feudal system that applied in the Tibetan "kingdoms". And who wants to be a serf? Yet the main protagonist in this book was the daughter of a former king. She is painted here in near-heroic tones. Perhaps it's a case of meet the new boss, same as the old boss. I don't know.
Then there was this: Uighurs have it even worse than the Tibetans. (less)
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Sarah
Aug 06, 2020Sarah rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: nonfiction, social-issues, favorites, historical, read-in-2020, kindle
http://www.bookwormblues.net/2020/08/...
Back when I was working on my undergraduate degree in nutrition, one of my last classes was called Multicultural Health and Nutrition. I loved this class. Our big semester project was to pick one country in the world, and break down their typical diet and nutrition needs, traditions (food you eat for festivals, etc.), common food-related health problems, and the like. Most of the people in class chose typical regions of the world, like the Middle East, or India, Mexico and the like.
I chose Tibet.
Why? I’ve always had a fascination regarding places in the world that I will likely never go to. I like to immerse myself in these areas because they get so little attention or serious consideration by so many in the West. So when I saw that Barbara Demick, who wrote one of my favorite books ever, Nothing to Envy, was turning her sights to Tibet, I was there with bells on.
Demick focuses on one specific region of the Tibetan Plateau, specifically Ngaba, a town that has been a focal point for a lot of recent upheavals, protests of which, more recently, have been known for monks self-immolating, for example. Ngaba has been cut off from the world for longer than just about any other area of Tibet, and the Chinese officials have been very careful about what information gets out about any of this. For example, I had no idea that some of the monks who lit themselves on fire actually survived, and are now living in hospitals in terrible condition, with amputated limbs and the like, and brought out to march out some party lines for people when necessary.
"There’s a saying that when there is a fire in Lhasa, the smoke rises in Ngaba."
Eat the Buddha starts out in the 1950’s, with a princess, right around the time when Mao was annexing the Tibetan Plateau. Through a series of interviews, Demick weaves together the stories of people who lived in this region when things were happening, like the Cultural Revolution, failed farming campaigns (the Chinese didn’t quite understand that not everything grows at high elevation with a very short summer so there was a lot of starvation). Some of the people interviewed didn’t end up in Tibet. The aforementioned princess, for example, ended up in China, with a poor class background, and then worked as forced labor for several years after a whole bunch of “reeducation” campaigns, which were horrible, abusive, and death was a common result of them.
"The Communist Party had identified feudalism and imperialism as the greatest evils of society. Their dilemma was how to destroy feudalism without becoming imperialists themselves; they couldn’t simply force “reforms” on the Tibetans. In order to live up to their own lofty propaganda, they needed the Tibetans to carry out reforms voluntarily, joyfully. To convince them, they dispatched young Chinese recruits, some of them still in high school, to spread the word."
Demick moves throughhistory smoothly, often weaving in custom, religious belief, and lore as she goes. She also does a great job at examining the larger, more sprawling Tibetan history which is, perhaps, incredibly misunderstood by the wider world. We tend to see Tibetans through the Dalai Lama, a man known for compassion and promotion of peace. I wasn’t aware of the long sprawl of warring tribes, and kings, tribal battles, even the time when a Tibetan king rose up, and brought an army down on China, overtaking a city, which is a deed that is still spoken about with reverence all these hundreds and hundreds of years later.
The book is broken up into spans of time, which helps readers follow what’s going on. It also helps to understand how previous policies and events were used as the backdrop for how things changed and what happened later. How the failed Cultural Revolution led to a time of tolerance, and how that led to a time of upheaval again. Everyone seemed to have an idea of how to deal with Tibetans, while the Tibetans themselves were largely shunted off to the side, ignored, and/or treated terribly. The slow wasting away of their cultural heritage left a generation of Tibetans who cannot read or write their own tongue. Religious history, which has been the backbone of their culture, is regarded as sacred to the older generation, and laughed off by the younger, who have been inundated by Chinese anti-religious propaganda regarding the “Dalai Clique.”
"Tibetans of this generation refer to this period simply as ngabgay—’58. Like 9/11, it is shorthand for a catastrophe so overwhelming that words cannot express it, only the number. But there are some evocative figures of speech. Some will call it dhulok, a word that roughly translates as the “collapse of time,” or, hauntingly, “when the sky and earth changed places.”
It reminded me, in some ways, of some things I’ve read about Russia, specifically regarding Russia’s push to annex areas like Ukraine, and even Georgia, where the culture was slowly bled out of the people. Stalin, for example, got really upset when he was in seminary school because he wasn’t allowed to speak, read, or write Georgian, his native language. It was against the law. Before that, there had been a tug-and-pull between Russia and Ukraine, where writing and language was likewise made illegal, a criminal act to partake in. This slow bleeding of culture is not new to our world, but books like this, where the slow degradation of the language and culture of a people, and the examination of the price of that, is a really stark reminder about how important words are, and how foundational culture can be, and when it’s gone, or starts bleeding away, just how impacted people are.
In modern days, the history of Tibet has, if anything, gotten more complicated. In my own research after reading this book, I have noticed a huge push from Chinese tourism companies to get tourists into the Tibetan Autonomous Region, and many people have answered the call. This leads to things like sacred rights, traditions, and the like being boiled down into something you can sell at a gift shop. It has increased revenue to those in the right places, and brought more awareness to the region, but the flow of information both into and out of the area is still very constricted and controlled, and there seems to be quite a dramatic wealth gap, and there’s still a generation of Tibetans who are becoming strangers to themselves.
Furthermore, around the time of the Summer Olympics in Beijing, there were absolutely incredible uprisings in Tibet, which started out peacefully, in the hopes that the eyes of the world on China pre-Olympics would keep the government from cracking down on any peaceful protests. Monks organized themselves into groups, with the hopes of raising awareness to the plight of the Tibetan people. It didn’t quite work out the way anyone wanted it to, and a wave of self-immolating monks and nuns followed in quick succession. There was violence, and a lot of blood and death and pain.
Ngaba was a great place to focus this book, as it seems to be one area where all the roads seem to connect in a fashion that allowed Demick to write a book that gives a pretty detailed, good overview of what has happened, and is currently happening in Tibet. This book made my heart hurt. On the other hand, it opened my eyes to just how misunderstood this region of the world is, and just the kinds of struggles that happen day in, and day out, when you are under this kind of pressure to change, transform, become other than what you are. There are no easy answers to any of the situations presented to readers here, and some of them will make you tear up, and hit you pretty hard, but it’s books like this that, I think, are so important. There’s an entire world out there going through things that I cannot fathom. Unless books like this continue to be written, and the authors who dare to push the boundaries dare to keep pushing them, people, like those interviewed in this book, will remain silent, voiceless victims.
Demick, in Eat the Buddha, gave an intimate voice and an outlet to a struggle that the world really needs to know more about. Masterful and important, defying boundaries imposed by governments, and unafraid to try to understand a point of view that has spent years upon years being repressed and silenced, this book rivals Nothing to Envy in every possible respect.
Read it.
Now.
5/5 stars (less)
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Daniel Warriner
Aug 29, 2020Daniel Warriner rated it it was amazing
Eat the Buddha by Barbara Demick, released in July of this year, is a compelling, heart-breaking report of the Tibetan struggle over the past several decades, beginning in 1958 with the royal family of Ngaba, most of whom have died under the rule of China's Communist Party.
I read Demick's Nothing to Envy (2009) earlier this year and found it very insightful and moving. In Eat the Buddha she applies the same journalistic formula by documenting a massive human rights disaster through the extraordinary accounts of individuals affected by the tragedy, with a keen focus on mostly everyday people in a particular city. In the former she centered the story around the destitute Chongjin, and in her latest book, Ngaba, “the undisputed world capital of self-immolations," as she describes it. Her storytelling, a sort of novelization of interviews with exiles and refugees, mixed in with history and pieces of the larger picture, is powerful in the way it brings people in these "obscure" places close to us, thereby evoking empathy and hopefully stimulating more action and ultimately change. At the very least, Demick has helped give a big voice to the silenced, and I hope she might one day put her time and talents toward reportage on the Uyghurs and Rohingya as well. (less)
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Mary
Sep 04, 2020Mary rated it liked it
Shelves: 2020, non-fiction
Every few years Barbara Demick comes out with one of these books, and I was really looking forward to this one. Somehow though, now that I think about it, there was something about this one that left me a bit hollow. It's a fascinating subject but it felt too vague and scattered. The majority of the book focuses on the town of Ngaba and some of its inhabitants, but I wanted more details about the culture and Tibet as a whole. Things kept being alluded to that left me wanting, like "The Uighurs have it even worse than the Tibetans." Really? Tell me more. But she didn't.
This isn't a comprehensive history of Tibet, Tibet/China politics, or Tibetan culture. I should have known that based on Demick's other books which tend to focus on a few people and follow their journey. Maybe the difference is that I already knew quite a lot about North Korean and Balkan history/politics, but my knowledge of Tibet is almost limited to remembering that there's an old movie set in Tibet with Leonardo di Caprio or Brad Pitt or one of those people...
After reading Eat the Buddha, Goodreads recommended that I read Mary Poppins. I guess I missed the part in the movie where Julie Andrews lands with her umbrella and self immolates in front of the kids. (less)
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Sarah
Oct 07, 2020Sarah rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: non-fiction, 中国
3.5 rounded up
Demick's previous non-fiction offering, Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea was a truly memorable read for me. Her excellent reportage shed light on the incredible (in the true sense of the word) lives and experiences of regular people in North Korea that had previously been inaccessible to most of the world, and even those who had visited the country. Even though I read Nothing to Envy over 10 years ago the book has stayed with me, and inspired the topic of my undergraduate dissertation - immigration policy (or the lack thereof) in China with regard to North Koreans.
All this background is to say I was super excited when I saw she had a book about Tibet coming out. Having lived in China for 4 years and never getting around to visiting Tibet (something I still regret over 3 years after returning to the UK), I was keen to learn more about the autonomous region and its people. As many know, Tibet is still a taboo topic in China today, and is something of a sore spot - along with Xinjiang, another autonomous territory on China's northwestern border where religious suppression and violence is getting worse and worse by the day. I'll devour pretty much any book about China, but one by an author who wrote such an impressive book about North Korea? Sign me up.
So perhaps I'll start with the negatives: I think the structure of Eat the Buddha was to its detriment. People are introduced with a bit of context and biography and then we don't see them again for a number of chapters. While Demick interviewed and met a lot of different people, a number of them have similarly sad stories, but these lose impact given the similarities and at times the book feels a tiny bit repetitive. For this reason I think it'd benefit from a character list so readers are able to keep the different stories and people straight, and perhaps the book would have benefitted from focusing more closely on fewer people. A tiny, nitpick-y comment, but I'd have loved if a few more photos could have been included too.
But let's focus on the positives! This is another incredibly well-researched book, and provides a great introduction to Tibetan history and politics; managing to achieve that fine balance of being comprehensive but accessible. The people Demick interviews have fascinating and shocking stories to tell which are seldom heard. Tibet may not be *quite* as mysterious and inaccessible as North Korea, but it's a fitting follow-up to her previous book, as another suppressed group of people living in a region on the brink of huge change. I found it to be a book better enjoyed when taken one or two chapters at a time, to fully appreciate the quality of the author's reportage and research.
So while I found this not quite as unputdownable as Nothing to Envy, I'd still highly recommend this to those who enjoyed well-written and researched non-fiction. (less)
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Emily Grace
May 18, 2020Emily Grace rated it really liked it
Shelves: 2020-releases, books-i-own, netgalley
There's a saying that when there is a fire in Lhasa, the smoke rises in Ngaba.
After having read Nothing to Envy I would have read anything Barbara Demick wrote. It certainly didn't hurt that Eat the Buddha is a topic which I already care deeply about.
Eat the Buddha profiles the small Tibetan town of Ngaba on the east of the Tibetan plateau, though the People's Republic of China would tell you it's in the Sichuan Province. Ngaba, though somewhat unknown to Western audiences, has played a big role in the unrest between China and Tibet. Nearly one-third of all the Tibetan self-immolations as protest occurred in this town.
Demick interviews and reconstructs the lives of several Tibetans from in and around Ngaba from the 1950's to the present and through their experiences paints a clear and painful history of China's occupation in Tibet. Because of Ngaba's geographic proximity to China, it was on the front lines for decades, constantly being affected by the political maneuverings in China itself. Ngaba was on the route of the Long March, the battle site for fighting factions of the Red Party during the Cultural Revolution, and of course, continues to be deeply affected by the Chinese occupation to this day. All of this has lead to a hot-bed of unrest and approximately 50,000 security personnel now stationed in the town.
Like Nothing to Envy, Eat the Buddha is told in the narrative style. I love this style of historical non-fiction, it's readable and treats the interviewees as real people rather than players in a history text. Nonetheless, the author doesn't neglect the history either. For those, like myself, not terribly familiar with the history of Ngaba, Demick does an excellent job of providing the reader with the context that is essential to understanding the current situation in Tibet. Though the books itself mainly starts in the 50's—this is about the earliest you can get and still be able to gather first hand accounts—sometimes the history will go back much farther through the ancestors of the interviewees and the ancient structures in the town. Because of the greater focus on the past at the beginning of the book it was a bit slower to get into the narrative-style story-telling but, personally, I am totally happy to make that trade.
As you might expect from phrases like "self-immolation" or even just "Tibet" this book can be pretty heartbreaking. Because of the aging of the Dalai Lama and China's continued strength as a world power, it seems like the spotlight on Tibet has waned in recent years. I think it's incredibly valuable to hear these stories and I thank Barbara Demick for bringing them to us. I hope that this book serves in whatever way it can to bring the plight of Tibetans back to the world's attention.
Thank you to Random House for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own. (less)
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BookishDubai
Mar 15, 2017BookishDubai marked it as to-read
Shelves: non-fiction, read-women, 2020-release
YAAAAS! Barbara Demick has a new book!!
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M
May 16, 2020M rated it it was amazing
A fascinating read. The history of Tibet isn't a topic I knew much about, and this was an accessible, engaging introduction. The use of individual stories brought the history alive and gave it a personal dimension. (less)
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Laine
Jul 29, 2020Laine rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Ohhhhh.
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Amy | shelf-explanatory
Jun 01, 2020Amy | shelf-explanatory marked it as to-read
Shelves: non-fiction
Excited to see that Barbara Demick is coming out with a new book! "Nothing to Envy" was so immersive, well-written, and eye-opening that I'm willing to read about any subject that she writes about. (less)
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Louise
Dec 18, 2020Louise rated it really liked it
Shelves: china, religion, tibet
Barbara Demick tells the story of Tibet by telling the stories of the people. While there are descriptions of the life of herders, market vendors and monks in Ngata, most of the profiles are of refugees now living in Dharmanshala, India.
The author chose Ngaba (City and region) because it is the place of the first encounter of Tibetans and the Chinese Communists. Passing through Ngaba on the Long March hungry (starving) marchers discovered that Buddhas were made with butter and grain and ate them, which gives the book its name. Demick also chooses Ngaba because it is the site of the most resistance to Chinese rule as measured by the number of self-immolations in protest.
Demick describes the chain of negotiations and compromises that came to a head in 1958 with a invasion that destroyed Ngaba's monasteries, deposed the king, and generally upended centuries of life and custom. The first profile is of Princess Gonpo, who at the age of 7 was taken away with her family. With her father killed and her mother’s whereabouts unknown, Gonpo, like many other Tibetans suffered through manual labor (elsewhere) during Mao’s Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution. You follow her through her eventual marriage, family and career and her life in Darmanshala where the Dalai Lama resides with a government in exile community.
Through Demick’s contacts, you see how freedoms for Tibetans in Ngaba freeze, thaw and freeze again. Monks can perform some forms of worship but an abrupt policy change could result in a monastery raid. They are frequent enough that monks are ready to take off their robes and put on blue jeans to flee. People can turn prayer wheels can be stigmatized. There is censored use of the internet, but without notice, it can be shut off entirely throughout the region.
Like other minorities, Tibetans are showcased, for instance, the 2008 Olympic dances and costumes. They have some relief from the 1 child policy. There is government investment in Tibetan roads, electrical distribution and schools. Nomads have government provided light weight tents (in sharp contrast to the Great Leap Forward when their herds were confiscated).
The book shows the downside to these improvements. There is a steady stream of Chinese emigrants that dominate the markets, take the good government jobs and see that the school curriculum is in Chinese. Nomads have restrictions on their movements. It is difficult for Tibetans to get a passport to travel.
The accumulation of the discriminatory policies and life as a minority in one’s own country (even as one’s standard of living is improving) grates on the Tibetans as is the one constant policy: there will be no recognition of the Dalai Lama. Demick devotes the last part of the book to the resulting self-immolations. She describes a few of these, the decision making behind them and the public reaction.
The physical and cultural descriptions of Dharamshala are the best I’ve read. There is an outline of its political situation. I wonder how it will survive the eventual loss of the current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso. (Demick poses the difficulty the re-incarnation requirement will have for both the Tibetans and the Chinese government.)
The writing is choppy and not everything is tied together. The profiles are chronological with little introduction to help you relate a revisited person to the earlier reference. Some information seems contradictory. At one point she notes 21 self immolations in the Ngaba area, in another over 100. She describes 4 harrowing escapes to India, a fifth refugee, just stumbles in.
This book, while informative, does not meet the standard the author set in Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea.
(less)
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Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance
Sep 23, 2020Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance rated it really liked it
Shelves: history, nonfiction, social-justice, community, diversity, spirituality
Author Barbara Demick tells the oral history of a town in one of the less well-known areas of Tibet, Ngaba. Tibet's government and its spiritual leader, the Dali Lama, have taken refuge in India for decades, and the Tibetan people that remain within China are discriminated against and are kept highly guarded by the Chinese government. Demick interviews and tells the stories of a Tibetan princess, a Tibetan nomad, a Tibetan intellectual, and a Tibetan entrepreneur, among others. The central question for each of them becomes whether to resist the Chinese or fall into line with them.
It's a fascinating story of a people marginalized and persecuted. (less)
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Jill Dobbe
Aug 04, 2020Jill Dobbe rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
An exceptionally written book that portrays the ideals of Tibetan culture and what Tibetans did to survive under Chinese rule in a way that was honorable, insightful and genuine.
I was drawn to this book as a result of visiting Dharamsala, India, in 2010. While there I learned about Tibetans in exile. I visited the home of the Dalai Llama and the beautiful Buddhist monasteries. Noted the many storefronts displaying FREE TIBET banners. I even marched in a silent vigil in support of the Tibetan people. Eat the Buddha gives a thorough and interesting account of the history of China overtaking Tibet, the powerlessness of the Tibetans against the Chinese, the lack of freedom they still suffer today, and the Chinese suppression of the Dalai Llama and Buddhist religion.
I especially found Demick's individual accounts of notable Tibetans to be honorable and written with compassion. She detailed how they suffered through abuse, poverty, hunger and loss of their families. Tibetans were jailed for the smallest infractions and Tibetan youth resorted to self-immolation as a way to show their religious devotion and their sacrifice for democracy.
A mesmerizing book that enthralls the readers and gives them a look into a noble and self-sacrificing culture. I was brought back to all I had experienced while in Dharamsala. Through the author's writing, I couldn't help but feel the beauty, compassion and peacefulness of the Tibetan and Buddhist culture that I witnessed all those years ago. Thank you Barbara Demick for taking me back there and helping me understand the Tibetan culture even more.
Thank you to the publishers, Netgalley and author for the opportunity to read and review Eat the Buddha. (less)
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Catelyn Silapachai
Aug 05, 2020Catelyn Silapachai rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
(Note: many thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the gifted book.)
After reading Barbara Demick's book "Nothing to Envy," I'm fairly certain that I would read anything she writes going forward, no matter the topic. The writing style of both "Nothing to Envy" and "Eat the Buddha" (narrative nonfiction) is easy to get wrapped up in as well as impeccably researched. Her books could easily be 500+ pages, so I appreciate that the editing is tight as well.
I'm embarrassed to say I knew hardly anything about Tibet other than what is common knowledge, so I appreciated this lesson on history and current events. Obviously, the oppression of Tibet is heartbreaking and important to learn about. As with "Nothing to Envy," the personal interviews in "Eat the Buddha" give the book dimension and poignancy. (less)
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Tiffany
Jul 03, 2020Tiffany rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: netgalley, nonfiction
3 1/2 stars rounded up. I really enjoyed reading Demick's book about North Korea and looked forward to this book as well. In "Eat the Buddha," we get a good look at Tibet and their rocky relationship with China. We get a deep appreciation of one specific village up in the mountains of China. Ngaba starts as a nomadic population and over time their way of life is upended as the Red Army marches in and changes their life. I did not fully recognize just how "Big Brother" China had become. It's terrifying and saddening to see how much this peaceful people are abused.
This book is a lot more fact-heavy than the North Korea one. It's either that, or since I lived in South Korea I could relate more to the other. At times I lost track of who all the people were. I definitely felt anxious for all these Tibetans and wished a more peaceful life for them. Definitely eye-opening and I'm not sorry I read this one.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House for an ARC for my honest opinion. (less)
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Matt
Aug 09, 2020Matt rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Barbara Demick is a remarkable journalist. Last summer I read her award-winning book on life in North Korea; this new one on Tibet is yet another eye-opening read.
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Alesa
Nov 25, 2020Alesa rated it really liked it
This is basically an ethnography of Ngaba, a town in Tibet, presented through the eyes of a handful of it residents. It is written by an American journalist, a woman, who spent a lot of time in China. You learn a lot about modern Tibetan history and culture, and about the Chinese administration and its policies toward Tibetans.
The book is very articulate without being academic. It's an easy read, if you're able to keep track of the various characters, since their stories are disjointed and jump around (none of the viewpoint characters know one another).
It's a sad read, however, because of the author's sympathetic tone towards Tibet, and the description of how its culture is being destroyed by the Chinese authorities. The Long March (which caused mass starvation in Tibet), the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution all took heavy tolls on Tibet. So are recent protests, self-immolations by monks, and the resulting government crackdowns. At the end, she looks at whether material improvements should be considered a fair trade for independence. She also affirms the view that all of China's expansion efforts in the Himalayas are really about control of water -- not just northward for large swaths of China, but also southward for all of SE Asia.
The title refers to starving Red Army soldiers raiding Buddha statuettes from Tibetan monasteries during the Long March. The statues were made from dough. So the soldiers boiled them down and ate them. It's a fit metaphor for the sacking of Tibet.
Here's a quote I found interesting. "China is becoming what political scientist Stein Ringen has termed the 'perfect dictatorship.' The government's control already is so complete, their surveillance of online communications so thorough, the closed-circuit cameras so ubiquitous, the biometric tracking of the population so advanced, that they maintain order almost seamlessly. China's new approach is less barbaric than the methods used by other regimes to control dissent -- for example, the gassing of civilian populations by Syria's Bashar Assad -- but is no less stifling."
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance review copy. (less)
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Richard Propes
Jul 02, 2020Richard Propes rated it really liked it · review of another edition
“I have everything I might possibly want in life, but my freedom.”
-a Tibetan businessman for Barbara Demick's "Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town"
If you're like most Americans, you've likely spent your life romanticizing the mysterious land of Tibet, a nation long vulnerable to invasion from its neighboring China yet a nation often known more for "Free Tibet" campaigns, passionate Buddhism and disciplined monks, and an idyllic setting that Hollywood seldom represents accurately.
Demick, however, is NOT Hollywood. Currently the Los Angeles Times' bureau chief for Beijing, Demick tells the story of Tibet largely through the lens of Ngaba, a Tibetan town perched 11,000 feet above sea level that sits along a border to China and yet has become one of Tibet's most elusive and difficult to visit locales.
Starting, at least briefly, in the 1930's when Mao Zedong's Red Army fled into the Tibetan plateau to escape adversaries in the Chinese Civil War, "Eat the Buddha" takes its name from the Red Army's fight for survival in Ngaba's rugged, elevated terrain by consuming religious statues made of flour and butter. This would become the early days of China's increasingly intrusive and dominating behavior toward its more spiritual and peaceful neighbor, a "relationship" that Demick largely picks up in the 1950's and explores through her three trips to the isolated town from 2013 while interviewing Tibetans in Ngaba along with others living abroad including the Dalai Lama, an exiled princess, and a host of others.
Demick's history of Tibet is an often heartbreaking one chronicling decades of Chinese incursions that have resulted in cultural upheaval, economic hardship, and the deaths of an estimated 300,000 Tibetans. Determined to sweep out religion, China destroyed monasteries and often punished those who even dared to mention the Dalai Lama's name.
Spanning decades of Tibetan and modern history, "Eat the Buddha" captures its heart-center through the stories Demick brings to life throughout her journey including a princess whose family was wiped out in the Cultural Revolution, a young Tibetan nomad who becomes radicalized in Kirti Monastery, an upwardly mobile entrepreneur who falls in love with a Chinese woman, a poet and intellectual who risks everything for his voice to be heard, and a young Tibetan schoolgirl who is forced at a young age to choose between family and the prosperity offered by Chinese money.
Demick weaves engaging tales here, an abundance of history woven into the tapestry of the lives that history impacted and a never-ending commitment to removing the veil of mystery from Tibet in favor of a more honest, reasoned understanding of the land and its people and the devastating impact of China's often brutal domination of the region.
There's no question that "Eat the Buddha" offers a largely one-sided perspective, Tibet's voice given tremendous clarity while nary a Chinese voice to be found here. That said, Demick also captures vividly a conflicted Tibet that is far removed from the romanticized Tibet portrayed by Hollywood or even the Tibet so often captured by those who would advocate for its freedom. There's an understanding in Tibet that China brings financial prosperity, technological advancement, and greater opportunities, but there's also an undeniable sense of grief and loss as Tibetans increasingly experience the loss of their spirituality, culture, and way of life.
"Eat the Buddha" is often brutal in its portrayal, Ngaba itself having at one point become the center point for a wave of self-immolations that swept through Tibet's Buddhist monks and nuns as perhaps the most extreme form of protest possible.
Do they resist the Chinese? Do they join them? Do they adhere to the Dalai Lama's teachings of non-violence and his support of a "middle way?" These issues are thoroughly explored in "Eat the Buddha" and in most ways Demick refuses to offer up anything resembling an easy answer.
There are no easy answers here.
"Eat the Buddha" is an immersive and atmospheric read, its interior design fosters a sense of antiquated historicity and a feeling, even within the font, that you've gone back into time and into another space. Intellectually satisfying and emotionally resonant, "Eat the Buddha" is a slow read that demands attention to detail and a willingness to embrace both history and humanity.
At times, that balance is difficult to achieve as deeply moving stories can be temporarily interrupted by paragraphs or pages of historical background. The closing chapter of "Eat the Buddha," as well, follows a chapter of character closure with what amounts to being historical summary and a methodological overview that feels anti-climactic and simply less satisfying than if Demick had allowed us to reflect upon the characters whose lives have been so deeply impacted by contemporary Tibetan and Chinese history and relations. It feels much like a movie where you believe you're in the closing scene only to have the director keep going toward a less satisfying conclusion.
However, these are minor quibbles for a book that is engaging, immersive, and incredibly important. Demick, whose last book "Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea" was a finalist for the National Book Award and won the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction, has crafted an occasionally shocking, deeply revealing, and immensely touching account of a Tibetan town shatters the facade while reminding the world why we fight to free a Tibet we don't really understand.
"Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town" is scheduled for release on July 28th from Random House. (less)
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Leslie
Nov 16, 2020Leslie rated it it was amazing
I hope they're teaching Barbara Demick in journalism school. She's one of the greats. Nothing to Envy among my all-time favorite non-fiction books. I almost shied away from this because it sounded too grim (relievedly, self-immolation is not the overriding focal point). I am not fascinated by Tibet in the way that I was North Korea. Nevertheless I am so glad to have read this.
Each person's story is beautiful and vivid. In composite, they're a vivid, page-turning history of the region from the Mao Era to present day. Reading Demick's end notes, she had substantial constraints to her reporting (not wanting to jeopardize anyone's safety) but this is not at all obvious while reading.
I also appreciate the nuance she brings to the subject of Tibet and Chinese rule. You don't have to be into Tibet or China to love this book. Just read it because she's a great writer. (less)
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Jee Hooked On Bookz
Sep 12, 2020Jee Hooked On Bookz rated it really liked it
When the Communists fled farther west into China (The Long March) to escape the Chinese Civil War, they were lacking of food, and by sheer coincidence found Buddha statues made of flour that tasted sweet, then started consuming them whenever they found any, hence the title ‘Eat the Buddha’.
‘Eat The Buddha’ chronicles the lives and struggles of Tibetans who lived under the ruling of China since 1950, when Mao proclaimed the People Republic of China. This book is the result of thorough research, and the various interviews Demick conducted with Tibetans from a small town called Aba (Ngaba) at the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau, for over 3 years.
We start from the year 1958 and end with the present, where some of the interviewees are currently residing in Dharamsala, India, now home of some exiles like Gonpo and Delek, but some of them have moved back to China, hoping to lead an ‘easier’ life than the one they had in India.
The book opens to the story of Gonpo, the last princess of mei Kingdom, when her palace was being seized and her entire family was being forced out of their home. Gonpo was only 7 years old then. Her father, the king, died a tragic death while looking for her mother. Gonpo is now living in exile in India and had been separated from her family ever since she left for India in 1989. Now they see each other once or twice a year.
In the following chapters, we get to meet other Tibetans like Delek, now a ‘self-styled historian’ whose original research was focused on the events of the 20th century, Dongtuk, a kid born out of wedlock and whose half-brother self-immolated, and Tsegyam, an aspiring poet, who at 19 became a vice principal.
Delek, at 9, witnessed his own grandparents being beaten severely; his grandmother’s hair being yanked out and his grandfather being ‘suspended from the ceiling, tangled in ropes.’ Their home filled with smoke, all their literature and Buddhist manuscripts, art pieces and holy books burned to ashes.
Dongtuk who, from a young age, knew he wanted to be a monk and loved every moment he spent at Kirti monastry. But in March 2008, Chinese authorities put the monastery under a siege. Everything was blocked, even telephone signals and food supply was cut, as though trying to starve the monks into submission after their demonstrations. And soon, closed-circuit television cameras were installed.
Nobody knew more people who had self-immolated than Dongtuk. Living in Dharamsala, India now, Dongtuk has started to keep a diary in the hopes of keeping the Tibetan cause alive through his writing.
Tsegyam, while he was working as a teacher, got the opportunity to teach Tibetan reading and writing, which although wasn’t allowed, the authorities weren’t able to monitor either and there weren’t any fixed curriculum. He was accused of counterrevolutionary propaganda for writing messages on prayer flags that express rebellion such as “Free Tibet” “Chinese Out of Tibet” and “Bring Back His Holiness The Dalai Lama”. He was sentenced to jail and was released a year later. Now in India, he was hired as the Dalai Lama’s private secretary.
The author also showed us the Tibetans’ lives, cultures and beliefs that made them known for their peace and non-violent nature. We’ll read of their Monlam festival (The Great Prayer Festival); Losar, the Tibetan New Year; their sky burials (an ecological practice of returning a body to nature without digging the land polluting water, or chopping down trees for cremation); their food like tsampa (made of barley or wheat flour) which is their staple, momos and khapse – treats they serve on special occasions like their New Year; their famous butter lamps for their prayers and meditations; their nomadic life and how some are adapting to a more modernized life.
It was also so interesting to learn about their education at the monasteries where they also hold their Tibetan monastic debates in their own style.
This was such an eye-opening read for me, and at times shocking; it was heartbreaking to know how much the Tibetans had to sacrifice just to live in peace, and their struggles seem endless, so much so that the Dalai Lama asked Elie Wiesel during one of his visits to India,
“You wrote about the Jewish people losing a homeland two thousand years ago and how you’re still here. Mine has just lost its homeland, and I know it’s going to be a very long road into exile,” “How did you survive?”
‘Eat the Buddha’ vividly painted the livelihoods of people struggling to find their footing in a country they call home, which keeps robbing them of their identities, freedom and independence, again and again. It was also about how they stood their ground, fought back, rebelled, and self-immolate as a call for the freedom of their people and to bring their Dalai Lama back home. It is, above all, the Tibetans’ story of their long fight to freedom while trying to preserve their culture, beliefs and language.
For more reviews, head over to HookedOnBookz.com (less)
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Bonnie G.
Dec 13, 2020Bonnie G. rated it liked it
Shelves: history, non-fiction, china-and-east-asia
Really a 3.5. These were fascinating stories and Demick is a fantastic storyteller. Sadly, there was no attempt to write with even the barest illusion of impartiality. This was pure propaganda. I lived in China, have spent a good deal of time in cities close to Tibet (though only about 10 days in actually in Tibet) and met Tibetan and Uyghur people who told tales that left me with no doubt that the Chinese government has brutally repressed many ethnic minorities, and have been most brutal with respect to these two groups. There is no way to tell this story where the Chinese government does not show itself to be violent and intolerant of difference -- the blood of many drips from their hands. Given that it is hard to see why Demick chose to gild the lily to make the government look even worse My biggest issue? She writes of Tibet under monarchy as a veritable paradise where people joyfully served their gods-given rulers. That is simply not true. I am sure ordinary Tibetan people see the feudal system through a haze of nostalgia. I am sure that haze is helped along by the fact that the monarchy was followed by the despotic rule and ritual torture of the Communist Party. But that does not change the fact that during the monarchy Tibet was a very had place for most of its citizens. Those commoners went hungry while their crops were taken by the royals. Those commoners toiled in poverty as the royals lived in relative splendor. Were the serfs loyal to their overlords? I am sure some were. Apart from the horrors perpetrated on Tibetans by the Maoists making the monarchs look like pussycats, this happens with freed slaves all the time. There were plenty of slaves who refused to leave their plantations after the American Civil War. Uncertainty can be worse than slavery, and generations of seeing yourself through the lens of caste does a number on people. I am not justifying the Chinese government's actions to crush Tibet under its bootheel, nor am I turning a blind eye to the irony of a government built on a foundation of anti-imperialism showing themselves to be the most deadly imperialists of all. I am however saying that it is foolish to ignore the fact that a government based on progeniture (as Tibet's was) is antithetical to freedom and equality, which are supposed to be values we in the West embrace. The Chinese had legitimate reasons to dismantle that government. How it was done, the ongoing oppression of the Tibetan people, the Atheist/Marxist jihad on faith, those are all crimes against humanity -- just tell that story. Still happy I read this, much of it was edifying and fascinating. (less)
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Grace W
Aug 24, 2020Grace W rated it it was amazing
Shelves: nonfiction
(c/p from my review on TheStoryGraph) 4.5 TW: Self-Harm, Suicide, Religious Persecution, Racism
Add this to the pile of books that, having read, will mean I'm never going to be allowed back into Mainland China. This is mostly a history of a small but infamous Tibetan town but also the history of the conflict between Tibetan and The People's Republic of China. It is well researched, relying on refugee oral stories as well as heavily researched first hand accounts. It is the sort of book that brings into stark reality the trials of a people who have been forced to give up their language, culture and religion for the sake of a government that does not care about their well being and that will do whatever it takes to make it seem like things are perfectly alright in Tibet. This book is particularly important now with the increasingly horrible situation in Hong Kong. While we fight and stand with Hong Kong, we might be tempted to forget that Tibet is also working against these same forces.
This book is deeply difficult to read. It's the kind of book that is going to stay with me for a long, long time. I'm aware that besides vocal support, there isn't a whole lot someone like me could do to help the Tibetan cause. But it is also a dark reminder that there is always a chance that it could happen to anyone, anywhere. (less)
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Joann
Dec 25, 2020Joann rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: books-about-china, drama, non-fiction, political, generational, true-story, religion, 2020-favorites, favorite-2020
I loved the author's other book about North Korea and so was anxious to read this one. I knew that China was inching its way into Tibet but this book once again opened my eyes to truly what went on during thse times and is still going on today under the guise of improving the lives of Tibetans. I was familiar with the slogan "Free Tibet" and after reading this book it made me want to buy a t-shirt with the same slogan. I feel it is already too late for the Tibetans to be able to save their culture, language and religion. I believe they will be able to hold onto their religion but I do believe their culture and language is edging closer to being non-existent. The only Tibetan school will no longing be available, just the Chinese school which will, of course, only teach Chinese. The town in which the author bases a lot of her research was from Nabo which has had over 150 self- immolations since 2009. A sad book. (less)
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ABOUT BARBARA DEMICK
Barbara Demick
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Barbara Demick is an American journalist. She is the author of Logavina Street: Life and Death in a Sarajevo Neighborhood (Andrews & McMeel, 1996). Her next book, Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea, was published by Spiegel & Grau/Random House in December 2009 and Granta Books in 2010.
Demick was correspondent for the Philadelphia Inquirer in Eastern Europe from 1993 to 1997. Along with ...more
BOOKS BY BARBARA DEMICK
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea Logavina Street: Life and Death in a Sarajevo Neighborhood Die Kinogänger von Chongjin Do I Make Myself Clear? Why Writing Well Matters
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36 of the Most Anticipated Mysteries and Thrillers of 2021
Twists, turns, red herrings, the usual suspects: These books have it all...and more. If you love mysteries and thrillers, get ready for dozens...
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“In 2007, the State Administration for Religious Affairs issued an order that said in essence that one needed advance permission from the Chinese government in order to be reincarnated.” — 0 likes
“Checkpoints proliferated. It had always been a challenge for Tibetans to obtain passports to leave the country, but now they had trouble simply traveling inside China. It was a throwback to the day when you weren’t allowed to leave your commune. The rules varied from place to place and month to month, but you could never be assured of the ability to get where you wanted to go.” — 0 likes
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