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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
This was weird, and I'm still not sure what I thought of it.
It's a novel in three parts, although the second and third parts are told simultaneously, with some interspersions of the first, as well.
I suspect this will come back to me.
It's a novel in three parts, although the second and third parts are told simultaneously, with some interspersions of the first, as well.
I suspect this will come back to me.
Intriguing, illuminating and ultimately satisfying read. Highly recommend.
Hmmm.... Do you every read a book that you feel you should really like because it's about a topic that's really moving or deep or important? That's kinda how I felt about this, but truth be told I kinda hated the book. Not because of the gruesome scenes and the overall hopelessness of it but really because I could barely get through the authors writing style. This is an excerpt straight out of the book:
"As the cold froze the turds inside our asses, we could only wonder if the Pubyok hadn't finally pulled the lever on us"
Um... this book won a Pulitzer Prize?!?! A lot of this book was written in that style where I would get really confused as to WHY it was written the way it was. Why is it necessary to write about the frozen turds or erections (I felt like this came up about 3 times too many). Does it help the story at all?? NO!
The story dragged on and on and then it just kinda ended and left me feeling like it could have been 5 chapters shorter and I wouldn't have really cared. I barely even cared about the main character or any of the subsequent characters.
I think if you know nothing of North Korea and go into this book it'll open you eyes that such a place can exist in this day and age, but if you already have some idea then really it's just a slow moving book with some very bizarre writing styles. I finished the book feeling thankful I don't live in North Korea but didn't really dwell on the characters plight like I normally do for weeks after I finish a book.
Overall this book is a great big MEH.
"As the cold froze the turds inside our asses, we could only wonder if the Pubyok hadn't finally pulled the lever on us"
Um... this book won a Pulitzer Prize?!?! A lot of this book was written in that style where I would get really confused as to WHY it was written the way it was. Why is it necessary to write about the frozen turds or erections (I felt like this came up about 3 times too many). Does it help the story at all?? NO!
The story dragged on and on and then it just kinda ended and left me feeling like it could have been 5 chapters shorter and I wouldn't have really cared. I barely even cared about the main character or any of the subsequent characters.
I think if you know nothing of North Korea and go into this book it'll open you eyes that such a place can exist in this day and age, but if you already have some idea then really it's just a slow moving book with some very bizarre writing styles. I finished the book feeling thankful I don't live in North Korea but didn't really dwell on the characters plight like I normally do for weeks after I finish a book.
Overall this book is a great big MEH.
Took a REALLY long time to get in to. Started enjoying quite a bit after about pg. 150
It remains the most depressing book I've ever read -- but in its uniquely disturbing way, it will stay with me for a long time. The questions it raises for me transcend the totalitarian (North Korean) setting: in any culture, where does a person's identity come from? what is real, what is manufactured, what is propaganda, and what is imagined? Johnson is a masterful writer who draws you in through compelling characters. I tried to put this aside many times (did I mention it was depressing?) but always came back. It will be good to discuss it with my book group later this month!
Too brutal for me, so DNF. Actually wouldn't have started, given the reviews were honest about the level of cruelty in the book, but Mary's book club was reading it.
fascinating narratives of people from all layers of society in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (north Korea) under Kim Jong-Il. features absolutely brutal violence, young and sensitive readers beware; but these are important stories that need to be heard
Watch the PBS interview, then read the book and wonder at the world Johnson created. He somehow went to North Korea and incorporated some of what he glimpsed. Although the country is a mystery to us, perhaps this book sheds light through the power of fiction.
Great read, especially the second half. Amazing to get a glimpse of what goes on inside North Korea. Totally unbelievable.
