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Contemporary Books Discussion Group

Eat the Buddha by Barbara Demick

Friendly discussion of contemporary (and, occasionally, classic) fiction and nonfiction.

Set in Aba, a town perched at 12,000 feet on the Tibetan plateau in the far western reaches of China that has been the engine of Tibetan resistance for decades, Eat the Buddha tells the story of a nation through the lives of ordinary people living in the throes of this conflict. Award-winning journalist Barbara Demick illuminates a part of China and the aggressions of this superpower that have been largely off limits to Westerners who have long romanticized Tibetans as a deeply spiritual, peaceful people. She tells a sweeping story that spans decades through the lives of her subjects, among them a princess whose family lost everything in the Cultural Revolution; a young student from a nomadic family who becomes radicalized in the storied monastery of Kirta; an upwardly mobile shopkeeper who falls in love with a Chinese woman; a poet and intellectual who risks everything to voice his resistance. 

Books are available on a first-come basis at the Information Desk. You may also call the Library at 563-344-4179 to have a book signed out to you and placed on the Holds shelf. Remote attendance is possible; please register in order to have the login information sent to you. If you plan to attend in person, there is no need to register.

This program is funded by the Friends of the Bettendorf Public Library.

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