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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
This book will be interesting to anyone who has an interest in history, communism, Korea, or overcoming the odds. It will also make you more appreciative of what you have and where you live, as long as it’s not under a totalitarian regime.
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
A very legible book that is easy to follow through her childhood and her experience in north Korea and her escape from it.
You've probably heard a lot about north Korea because of the political climate right now, but this gives you a bigger insight on the actual people who lived through famine and survived.
I've read a lot of books in my life but this is the 2nd time I need to put the book down for a moment to just realise what I've just read.
It doesn't take long to read it but it will stick with you for a very long time.
You've probably heard a lot about north Korea because of the political climate right now, but this gives you a bigger insight on the actual people who lived through famine and survived.
I've read a lot of books in my life but this is the 2nd time I need to put the book down for a moment to just realise what I've just read.
It doesn't take long to read it but it will stick with you for a very long time.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
The premise was interesting. The author, Eunsun Kim, gave herself a voice about the horrors of North Korea...but really about China. I mean, the majority of the story is set in China, and the parts that are set in North Korea are brushed under the rug. For example, when Eunsun is "starving on the streets," we don't get many details about it. Readers don't feel connected to her struggle because she doesn't let them in. I am almost certain that had she added more about her "escape" and life in North Korea it would be a much better memoir. However, the idea was sound and I feel as if I did learn some things about the world's most brutal regime and how China treats those trying to escape.
Eunsun clearly has no flair for storytelling and this is a fairly boring from a narrative standpoint; there's never any dramatic tension. It only merits three stars writing-wise but since she wrote the book as a sort of "fuck you" to the North Korean regime, I'm giving her a bonus star just to be supportive.
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Like most people I know very little of North Korean society. This story about Eunsun and her family made me want to learn more though. Eunsun suffers from starvation in North Korea and her family decides to run away which ends up being an escape that lasts for nine years. The Norwegian translation of this book was a bit off, but the story itself was great.
adventurous
dark
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-paced