Eat the Buddha

Barbara Demick spent years digging into what life looks like in Ngaba, a remote Tibetan town inside China’s borders. The book follows roughly half a dozen residents whose stories she traces across decades. Monks, traders, students, all caught between Tibetan identity and Beijing’s tightening grip.

The title comes from a real moment in 1935, when starving Communist soldiers raided a monastery and ate the offerings made of barley flour shaped like Buddhas. That detail sets the tone. This isn’t a sweeping history of Tibet. It’s closer to the ground, more about families and small choices than politics from a distance.

If you’ve read Nothing to Envy, her earlier book about North Korea, the approach will feel familiar. Patient, specific, built from years of conversation.