Eat the Buddha

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Eat the Buddha by Barbara Demick: Episode 3

Eat the Buddha by Barbara Demick

Episode 3

BBC Radio 4 - Eat the Buddha by Barbara Demick, Episode 3

Barbara Demick's account of modern Tibet takes up the story of a novice monk.

Barbara Demick's new and evocative account of modern Tibet takes up the story of a novice monk. The reader is Laurel Lefkow.

The acclaimed journalist Barbara Demick's new book is an evocative account of modern Tibet. Today, it's the year 2000 and, in the village of Meruma, a boy is drawn to life in nearby Kirti monastery. The reader is Laurel Lefkow.

Eat the Buddha tells Tibet's troubled history through the eyes the people of one town, starting in the 1950s when China claimed sovereignty over Tibet, leading to decades of unrest and resistance, and bringing us up to the present day. Barbara Demick's account is an evocative portrait of what life is like for today's Tibetans who struggle to maintain their identity in the face of one of the most powerful countries in the world.

Barbara Demick won the Samuel Johnson Prize for Nothing to Envy (Granta, 2010), her seminal book on North Korea. She is also the author of Besieged (Granta, 2012), her account of the war in Sarajevo, which won the George Polk Award, the Robert F Kennedy Award and was shortlisted for a Pulitzer Prize. She lives in New York.

Abridged by Penny Leicester.
Produced by Elizabeth Allard

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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The story of modern Tibet's troubled history through the eyes of the people of one town.

Book of the week. Acclaimed writer Barbara Demick's new book tells the story of modern Tibet's troubled history through the eyes of the people of one town. Read by Laurel Lefkow.

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