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reydeam's review against another edition
5.0
“Kindness toward strangers is rare in North Korea. There is risk in helping others. The irony was that by forcing us to be good citizens, the state made accusers and informers of us all.”
This was an eye-opening book. Hyeonseo Lee expanded my perspective on North Korea with the knowledge of how deeply the propaganda within this country has been indoctrinated into their citizens. Their societal perspective is vastly different than the one I know.
Through Lee’s narrative, which read like a well written novel, I have gained a brief understanding of North Koreans’ fear of not being considered a good citizen as well as North Koreans’ loyalty to their country. This enhanced the awe I felt for those who defected and survived that horrific journey, a journey that was so horrific because of how terribly defectors were taken advantage of.
From the knowledge I’ve gained from this book, my appreciation of living where I live has increased, and I’ve also gained a newer perspective.
This was an eye-opening book. Hyeonseo Lee expanded my perspective on North Korea with the knowledge of how deeply the propaganda within this country has been indoctrinated into their citizens. Their societal perspective is vastly different than the one I know.
Through Lee’s narrative, which read like a well written novel, I have gained a brief understanding of North Koreans’ fear of not being considered a good citizen as well as North Koreans’ loyalty to their country. This enhanced the awe I felt for those who defected and survived that horrific journey, a journey that was so horrific because of how terribly defectors were taken advantage of.
From the knowledge I’ve gained from this book, my appreciation of living where I live has increased, and I’ve also gained a newer perspective.
riahlynn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
tawnath0r's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
3.75
Very solid memoir. Sped through it. Very captivating and honest - learned a lot
fionacashell's review against another edition
5.0
I picked up this book as part of a book club, having not heard of it before. This was an incredible memoir recounting the heartbreaking story of one woman's experience leaving North Korea. Hyeonseo Lee does a fantastic job capturing the chronic anxiety in her life before and after defecting, as well as portraying the humanity of those around her. Would highly recommend for anyone with even a passing knowledge of North Korean life, or anyone who enjoys stories of people triumphing in the face of extreme adversity.
kellygoesgeocaching's review against another edition
4.0
A fascinating memoir on a turbulent life. I'm very interested in the political turmoil of North Korea, especially at the moment, and the depiction in this novel makes me want to help those suffering under the oppressive regime.
emeraldgarnet's review against another edition
4.0
A riveting read that conveys the difficulties North Korean defectors face.
morganzapimp's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
4.5