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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
challenging
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
I was so impressed with this book. It is very important to read it because it shows how horrible people in the camps are treated. A must read.
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Police brutality, Classism
Another gutting story about life in North Korea. Imagine being sent to a prison camp at age 10 for a supposed crime committed by your grandfather. And not just you, but your entire family, apart from your mother who is kept behind and forced to divorce your father. The camp, of course, is full of all the brutality you can expect from a gulag, and then some. Children beaten to death. Torture. Starvation. Dehumanization. Slave labour.
There are many details about life in the camp that are similar to those reported in Escape from Camp 14, which has come under some criticism for partial fabrications later admitted by the informant/escapee. And this particular camp is supposed to be a cake walk in comparison to 14, so there you go. An exoneration of at least some of the details given about Camp 14, in my opinion.
One aspect to Aquariums that is unique from the other books about North Korea (that I've read) is that Kang Chol-Hwan comes from a well-to-do family with Japanese connections, so before and after their internment, they enjoyed a much higher quality of life than the typical North Korean. This makes Kang's defection easier, and in some ways, more difficult. I appreciated this different lens into the regime and the adaptations required by a North Korean trying to adjust to life in the South.
I've given this a 4, but really that's a rounded-up 3.5. The story is still profound and gut-wrenching, but there was something less captivating about this narrative... perhaps the flowery prose or some of the self-glorifying details. No huge complaints though. Another worthwhile read for anyone interested in the North Korean monster.
There are many details about life in the camp that are similar to those reported in Escape from Camp 14, which has come under some criticism for partial fabrications later admitted by the informant/escapee. And this particular camp is supposed to be a cake walk in comparison to 14, so there you go. An exoneration of at least some of the details given about Camp 14, in my opinion.
One aspect to Aquariums that is unique from the other books about North Korea (that I've read) is that Kang Chol-Hwan comes from a well-to-do family with Japanese connections, so before and after their internment, they enjoyed a much higher quality of life than the typical North Korean. This makes Kang's defection easier, and in some ways, more difficult. I appreciated this different lens into the regime and the adaptations required by a North Korean trying to adjust to life in the South.
I've given this a 4, but really that's a rounded-up 3.5. The story is still profound and gut-wrenching, but there was something less captivating about this narrative... perhaps the flowery prose or some of the self-glorifying details. No huge complaints though. Another worthwhile read for anyone interested in the North Korean monster.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
A well written & engaging book for anyone interested in learning more about the experience of a North Korean refugee.