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gyeranbbang's review against another edition
5.0
I am shocked I liked this as much as I did - I dislike poetry with a passion; and, although I appreciate Bandi's work and find it insanely important, I didn't exactly enjoy his collection of stories [b:The Accusation: Forbidden Stories from Inside North Korea|30358510|The Accusation Forbidden Stories from Inside North Korea|Bandi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1475992177l/30358510._SY75_.jpg|49321847]. My copy of the collection did not have any comments about the stories, which I think would have been needed for those unfamiliar to North Korea. The Red Years had a few comments at the end of the book to explain certain things - not only NK-wise, but also about certain allegories in the poems that obviously escaped me.
The Red Years is divided into five sections:
- Barren Earth: poems about how living in NK isn't great.
- Exhausted Heart: samizdat poetry - my obvious favorite part. Some of these seemed particularly dangerous for the author: "Idol," "Song of the Red People," and "The Song of the Five Thieves". Spoiler tagging my favorite bit from this last poem:
Here a third, there a thief - even a king looks small among you -
And Fatty Kim, the worst third on Heaven and Earth, squats down,
Squashing factories, farms, the whole countryside, under a single cheek of his ass,
And in broad daylight he bites off chunks to devour at his whim.
- Longing for You, My Love: poems about reunification and aspirations to escape (here "woman" means escaping, and "love" means reunification)
- Attached to a Life: poems about life
- Wishes : poems about how to live - I personally found all of these beautiful, especially "Live with an Open Heart," "Sow Love, Reap Love," and "A Dream." Some of these resonated with me and how I live my life, but knowing about North Korea, I found the messages about freedom and so very poignant. My favorite line of these has to be from "Of the World Where People Live": Is a culture that has lost its humanity still civilized? - which is a fun one considering the Kims' goal of building a socialist civilization.
I personally loved reading this, though I'd say a bit of knowledge of North Korea may be required to fully understand the poems in Exhausted Heart (i.e., "sun" = Kim Il-sung, "mother" = the party or Kim Il-sung, what Chollima is, etc.). Both Bandi's stories and poems got out of North Korea in the same bundle, which was smuggled out thanks to a relative of the author. Seeing how Bandi has written about his* temptation (or desire) to escape, I would love to hear at some point that he's gotten out. In the afterword, it is sort of confirmed that his well-being is unknown, but here's to hoping his dissidence has somehow gone unnoticed - and that another manuscript gets out.
*I say 'his' because the foreword sort of confirmed Bandi is a man, which is something that my copy of The Accusation did not do.
The Red Years is divided into five sections:
- Barren Earth: poems about how living in NK isn't great.
- Exhausted Heart: samizdat poetry - my obvious favorite part. Some of these seemed particularly dangerous for the author: "Idol," "Song of the Red People," and "The Song of the Five Thieves". Spoiler tagging my favorite bit from this last poem:
Spoiler
Here a third, there a thief - even a king looks small among you -
And Fatty Kim, the worst third on Heaven and Earth, squats down,
Squashing factories, farms, the whole countryside, under a single cheek of his ass,
And in broad daylight he bites off chunks to devour at his whim.
- Longing for You, My Love: poems about reunification and aspirations to escape (here "woman" means escaping, and "love" means reunification)
- Attached to a Life: poems about life
- Wishes : poems about how to live - I personally found all of these beautiful, especially "Live with an Open Heart," "Sow Love, Reap Love," and "A Dream." Some of these resonated with me and how I live my life, but knowing about North Korea, I found the messages about freedom and so very poignant. My favorite line of these has to be from "Of the World Where People Live": Is a culture that has lost its humanity still civilized? - which is a fun one considering the Kims' goal of building a socialist civilization.
I personally loved reading this, though I'd say a bit of knowledge of North Korea may be required to fully understand the poems in Exhausted Heart (i.e., "sun" = Kim Il-sung, "mother" = the party or Kim Il-sung, what Chollima is, etc.). Both Bandi's stories and poems got out of North Korea in the same bundle, which was smuggled out thanks to a relative of the author. Seeing how Bandi has written about his* temptation (or desire) to escape, I would love to hear at some point that he's gotten out. In the afterword, it is sort of confirmed that his well-being is unknown, but here's to hoping his dissidence has somehow gone unnoticed - and that another manuscript gets out.
*I say 'his' because the foreword sort of confirmed Bandi is a man, which is something that my copy of The Accusation did not do.
thebibliotake_89's review against another edition
5.0
I'm not sure how you could possibly review this in the traditional sense when the author has literally risked his life just by not only putting these words on paper, but even thinking these thoughts.
Bandi bravely casts his message to the west again via sparse but heartbreaking poetry about the crushingly oppressive regime in North Korea, dangerous criticisms of the supreme leader and pining for freedom.
Bandi bravely casts his message to the west again via sparse but heartbreaking poetry about the crushingly oppressive regime in North Korea, dangerous criticisms of the supreme leader and pining for freedom.
carumens's review against another edition
5.0
«Rómpete cuando te golpeen— ¿para qué llorar antes de tiempo?
Estaré riendo hasta el momento exacto en que me rompa.»
.
De Bandi sabemos que durante la Guerra de Corea huyó a China con sus padres, que cuando esta termino tuvo que volver a su Corea del Norte natal y que allí se labró una carrera como escritor de propaganda para el régimen. Sabemos también, que ante la oportunidad de huir a Corea del Sur, decidió quedarse para proteger a su familia, pero le pidió a una familiar que huiría pronto que se llevase sus escritos con ella. Por supuesto, estos escritos secretos nada tenían que ver con lo que escribía para el régimen. Esta familiar no se llevó los escritos de Bandi por miedo a que su huida no fuese exitosa, pero una vez estuvo a salvo en Corea del Sur, mandó un mensajero a casa de Bandi que se encargó de hacerle llegar los manuscritos un tiempo después. Esos manuscritos serían publicados después en Corea del Sur en dos obras: el libro de historias que fue traducido al español bajo el título 'La Acusación' ; y este poemario, que aún no tenemos en nuestra lengua.
La literatura que tenemos de Corea del Norte se compone básicamente de las memorias de refugiados que cuentan su vida en el país y como consiguieron huir. No tenemos, sin embargo, literatura escrita por autores que sigan viviendo allí y que no sean un arma propagandística del gobierno. Bandi es, por supuesto, un seudónimo (en coreano, 'luciérnaga') y su obra es una excepción a esta regla.
Al leer este poemario no podía parar de pensar que si se descubriese la identidad de este autor, sería asesinado en cuestión de horas. A veces olvidamos la suerte que tenemos de vivir en la época y el lugar en el que vivimos, y aparte de ser una colección de poemas preciosa, este libro me ha hecho reflexionar mucho acerca de la libertad y la literatura. Al escribir lo que escribe, Bandi se está jugando la vida, y el hecho de que su trabajo sea precisamente el escribir a favor del régimen es un reflejo claro de lo irónica que puede ser la vida.
Los temas de este poemario son la guerra, el amor, la opresión, la libertad, la desesperanza... La voz de Bandi es un grito y yo lo he sentido muy dentro.
Estaré riendo hasta el momento exacto en que me rompa.»
.
De Bandi sabemos que durante la Guerra de Corea huyó a China con sus padres, que cuando esta termino tuvo que volver a su Corea del Norte natal y que allí se labró una carrera como escritor de propaganda para el régimen. Sabemos también, que ante la oportunidad de huir a Corea del Sur, decidió quedarse para proteger a su familia, pero le pidió a una familiar que huiría pronto que se llevase sus escritos con ella. Por supuesto, estos escritos secretos nada tenían que ver con lo que escribía para el régimen. Esta familiar no se llevó los escritos de Bandi por miedo a que su huida no fuese exitosa, pero una vez estuvo a salvo en Corea del Sur, mandó un mensajero a casa de Bandi que se encargó de hacerle llegar los manuscritos un tiempo después. Esos manuscritos serían publicados después en Corea del Sur en dos obras: el libro de historias que fue traducido al español bajo el título 'La Acusación' ; y este poemario, que aún no tenemos en nuestra lengua.
La literatura que tenemos de Corea del Norte se compone básicamente de las memorias de refugiados que cuentan su vida en el país y como consiguieron huir. No tenemos, sin embargo, literatura escrita por autores que sigan viviendo allí y que no sean un arma propagandística del gobierno. Bandi es, por supuesto, un seudónimo (en coreano, 'luciérnaga') y su obra es una excepción a esta regla.
Al leer este poemario no podía parar de pensar que si se descubriese la identidad de este autor, sería asesinado en cuestión de horas. A veces olvidamos la suerte que tenemos de vivir en la época y el lugar en el que vivimos, y aparte de ser una colección de poemas preciosa, este libro me ha hecho reflexionar mucho acerca de la libertad y la literatura. Al escribir lo que escribe, Bandi se está jugando la vida, y el hecho de que su trabajo sea precisamente el escribir a favor del régimen es un reflejo claro de lo irónica que puede ser la vida.
Los temas de este poemario son la guerra, el amor, la opresión, la libertad, la desesperanza... La voz de Bandi es un grito y yo lo he sentido muy dentro.
aliendaydreamer's review
emotional
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
4.5
tuvash's review against another edition
4.0
'All my life I'd pictured you, until my hair turned
white.
And I'd called out to you in dreams, with heated
blood.
From the North, this land, this prison without bars.
The love I'd long awaited was the bosom of the South.'
It's difficult to rate this one when you know the author risked his life in order to share his stories, but I thought Bandi's poems were beautifully written. Some of them I didn't understand as well as others, which I think proves a point that Bandi is making in this collection of poems. He is writing about freedom or lack thereof, and for me to not understand all of what he is saying proves that I am taking my freedom for granted.
risked his life
white.
And I'd called out to you in dreams, with heated
blood.
From the North, this land, this prison without bars.
The love I'd long awaited was the bosom of the South.'
It's difficult to rate this one when you know the author risked his life in order to share his stories, but I thought Bandi's poems were beautifully written. Some of them I didn't understand as well as others, which I think proves a point that Bandi is making in this collection of poems. He is writing about freedom or lack thereof, and for me to not understand all of what he is saying proves that I am taking my freedom for granted.
risked his life
nicolemillo's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Reading this and having thought even deeper about the context, I feel like a dick for feeling overall so-so about The Accusation (though I guess if I honestly felt that way about the work in and of itself, I just felt that way). I don’t know if it’s because this actually had more notes to remind you of the circumstances under which we come by these poems or if it’s because the poems are so short and direct that both the content and context are more present in the mind, but this made a stronger impression on me even though I usually connect with prose more easily than poetry. It also makes me think I should perhaps re-read The Accusation..
thebibliotake_89's review
5.0
I'm not sure how you could possibly review this in the traditional sense when the author has literally risked his life just by not only putting these words on paper, but even thinking these thoughts.
Bandi bravely casts his message to the west again via sparse but heartbreaking poetry about the crushingly oppressive regime in North Korea, dangerous criticisms of the supreme leader and pining for freedom.
Bandi bravely casts his message to the west again via sparse but heartbreaking poetry about the crushingly oppressive regime in North Korea, dangerous criticisms of the supreme leader and pining for freedom.
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