Reviews

In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom by Yeonmi Park, Maryanne Vollers

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ellies_92's review

4.0

Il libro, che ho letto in inglese, mi è sembrato ben scritto e complessivamente mi è piaciuto.
La Park però in alcuni passaggi manca di chiarezza e l’impressione è che ometta alcuni dettagli su cosa sia successo veramente (ammette nei ringraziamenti finali di aver omesso dettagli e sostituito nomi per proteggere delle persone, quindi in effetti torna)
Ad ogni modo Yeonmi Park offre al lettore la possibilità di conoscere la Corea del Nord, come non sarebbe possibile fare senza chi come lei ha lottato per la libertà.
Una storia toccante, di forte impatto e a tratti da far accapponare la pelle, una di quelle storie che anche se si conosce già il finale è sorprendente leggere.
Mi ha tenuta incollata finché non l’ho finito.

withlovejoy's review against another edition

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challenging informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

this is one of those books i think everyone should read at least once in their lifetime

michellechien930's review against another edition

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5.0

Wow, this has been a great start to 2020 in terms of reading! Reading this book is such an eye-opening experience. After watching an episode or two the recent wildly popular k-drama "Crash Landing on You", I decided I wanted to learn more about what life is really like in North Korea. Because even though the k-drama has guts for making a television series of the communist regime, I feel like it romanticizes many aspects of the country and its cold brutality. Reading Yeonmi's story felt like one of the most important and poignant stories of our time, something that everyone should read for themselves. It's hard and even heartbreaking to imagine that Yeonmi and I are about the same age, and yet she has gone through ordeals I cannot even begin to describe. Her story is incredibly heartbreaking and yet uplifting at the same time. It's deeply saddening, but also hopeful and inspiring to millions.

celistar's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring medium-paced

4.0

mmontemurro's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

This was a gripping memoir of Yeonmi Park's harrowing journey out of North Korea. She describes her childhood in a country where having no food for days on end was commonplace, and how they would eat dragonflies for protein when they had nothing else. She describes seeing dead bodies on the side of the road - people who had died of starvation. Her father was taken to a hard labor camp after being caught selling "illegal" goods which in any other place would be considered legal. Her mother left to attempt to retrieve her father from prison, and she was left to care for herself and her sister. While others tried to help them, it sounded as though most people had little to give for food. I was shocked to hear about the government radios which had to be on at all times - it reminded me of 1984 where they were constantly watched and listened to. No one could be trusted but yourself. Her sister left for China, and eventually Yeonmi leaves with her mother too, to hopefully find a better life in China, and get her father out of North Korea. Yeonmi and her mother were trafficked for many years in China, and forced into marriages by Chinese brokers. They were considered second-class citizens - or really not citizens at all in China. Yeonmi secured a deal for herself as a young girl in order to get her mother and father, and hopefully her sister, who was missing, in exchange for becoming a mistress to one broker. She describes painful, terrible rape and having to endure that for her family. Eventually they leave with a Christian missionary group for South Korea. However dangerous, they do eventually make it to South Korea, and are able to become citizens there. Due to a lack in eduation in North Korea, Yeonmi is told that she will never amount to anything, never catch up to other classmates, and never go to university. She surpasses every goal by working extremely hard. Her story is incredible, and she has everlasting hope through all the bleak moments of her life. I hope that this story reaches many, and that her story can inspire others to understand the tragedy of North Korea and understand that anything is achieveable in this life.

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