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4.48 AVERAGE
4.48 AVERAGE
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
I'm simply admitting that I'm not going to get back to this one. It was interesting and written well, it just feels like my non-fiction reading list has more pressing items right now.
challenging
dark
inspiring
fast-paced
They don’t stop to think that in the middle of this black hole, in this bleak, dark country where millions have died of starvation, there is also love.
I am at a loss for words. A painful look into the lives of North Korean people & their struggles as individuals, not as a statistic.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
This is investigative journalism at its finest. Barbara Demick shares the stories of six individuals who lived under North Korea’s oppressive regime before eventually defecting and facing the overwhelming challenge of starting over. She does an incredible job of balancing meticulous research with deep compassion, bringing these firsthand accounts to life in a way that feels both intimate and eye opening.
We hear from teachers, doctors, and factory workers, all people whose lives were shaped by hardship, propaganda, and the daily struggle to survive. Their stories are heartbreaking but also full of resilience, offering a rare glimpse into a world most of us will never truly understand.
If you ever think life is tough, this book will put things into perspective. The strength and endurance of these individuals are nothing short of remarkable.
sad
tense
medium-paced
This deeply affecting book follows the lives of six people who lived in the same town North Korea through the famine of the 1990s, and ended up defecting to South Korea in the 2000s. It told about their lives, struggles, and how they ended up losing faith in the regime and escaping.
-a young woman and her boyfriend, who defected separately without telling each other because it was too dangerous to even discuss that neither of them believed in the regime. The story of these star-crossed lovers was so heartbreaking it could have been fictional, but it wasn't.
-a hardworking mom who loved the Dear Leader and believed strongly in everything the Party told her until most of her family starved to death.
-this woman's daughter, who never quite believed in the regime and sold herself as a bride to a Chinese farmer to escape.
-a homeless orphan who did time in a prison camp for smuggling things to China to survive.
-a young female pediatrician, disillusioned because she had no way to treat all the starving children who came to the clinic.
This book was so fascinating because it provides a rare glimpse into this place so cut off from the rest of the world. It’s frightening to realize that this place exists in this day and age, and there are still millions of people living there, starving to death. They are required to have portraits of Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung in their home and dust them every day. Their TV dials are welded in place to only show the party channel. It’s like East Germany, the Dominican Republic under Trujillo, or modern-day Belarus or Iran. It’s like living in [b:1984|5470|1984|George Orwell|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31bMi9gBjXL._SL75_.jpg|153313], but it’s real. This book was a really great way to learn about the past and present of this sad, scary place.
-a young woman and her boyfriend, who defected separately without telling each other because it was too dangerous to even discuss that neither of them believed in the regime. The story of these star-crossed lovers was so heartbreaking it could have been fictional, but it wasn't.
-a hardworking mom who loved the Dear Leader and believed strongly in everything the Party told her until most of her family starved to death.
-this woman's daughter, who never quite believed in the regime and sold herself as a bride to a Chinese farmer to escape.
-a homeless orphan who did time in a prison camp for smuggling things to China to survive.
-a young female pediatrician, disillusioned because she had no way to treat all the starving children who came to the clinic.
This book was so fascinating because it provides a rare glimpse into this place so cut off from the rest of the world. It’s frightening to realize that this place exists in this day and age, and there are still millions of people living there, starving to death. They are required to have portraits of Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung in their home and dust them every day. Their TV dials are welded in place to only show the party channel. It’s like East Germany, the Dominican Republic under Trujillo, or modern-day Belarus or Iran. It’s like living in [b:1984|5470|1984|George Orwell|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31bMi9gBjXL._SL75_.jpg|153313], but it’s real. This book was a really great way to learn about the past and present of this sad, scary place.
Reading the sometimes extreme coverage of North Korea I have often wondered what life really must be like in that country. Books like 'Orphan Master's Son' are extreme in heightening the sense of distance of the reader from the North Koreans. 'Nothing to Envy' does a great job of presenting ordinary lives in North Korea without hyperbole. The book is based on the author's work as the Korea correspondent for the LA Times. It follows the lives of 6 North Korean refugees in South Korea. It traces their lives in North Korea, the famine of the 90's and their eventual decision to defect to South Korea.
They don’t stop to think that in the middle of this black hole, in this bleak, dark country where millions have died of starvation, there is also love.
Barbara Demick's case study is an impressive accomplishment. Demick is able to transport an individualistic, free-market, American into the oppressive and communist regime of North Korea; build empathy and humility into a reader selfishly fearful for his own life; and compose a literary narrative that has merit and style outside of her content matter.
Nothing to Envy:.. tours North Korea in its most turbulent time through the eyes of six defectors, former ordinary North Koreans. Some are devout supporters of the regime during their time in the DPRK, others had been hostile, if submissive, to the regime. Two are secret lovers, one is a mother trying desperately to hold her family together, another is a doctor fighting between ethics and safety. Each has a unique vantage point and fight for survival.
At times, Demick's work falls into a predictable and repetitive routine. She has a habit of repeating herself in an effort to reinforce the hopelessness of the regime. And yet, these moments only decreased the intensity for me. Her biggest strength comes in her transitions - effortlessly traversing time, space, and theme in sweeping and smooth tones. Nothing to Envy leaves nothing to the imagination. Demick keeps moving, exposing both good and bad in the reclusive country, and staying honest about her characters' flaws and courage. Despite it's minor shortcomings, Demick's landmark study pries open one of the most compulsive topics in the modern sphere and forces us to accept our role in its formation, and rally hope and anger for its demise.
Barbara Demick's case study is an impressive accomplishment. Demick is able to transport an individualistic, free-market, American into the oppressive and communist regime of North Korea; build empathy and humility into a reader selfishly fearful for his own life; and compose a literary narrative that has merit and style outside of her content matter.
Nothing to Envy:.. tours North Korea in its most turbulent time through the eyes of six defectors, former ordinary North Koreans. Some are devout supporters of the regime during their time in the DPRK, others had been hostile, if submissive, to the regime. Two are secret lovers, one is a mother trying desperately to hold her family together, another is a doctor fighting between ethics and safety. Each has a unique vantage point and fight for survival.
At times, Demick's work falls into a predictable and repetitive routine. She has a habit of repeating herself in an effort to reinforce the hopelessness of the regime. And yet, these moments only decreased the intensity for me. Her biggest strength comes in her transitions - effortlessly traversing time, space, and theme in sweeping and smooth tones. Nothing to Envy leaves nothing to the imagination. Demick keeps moving, exposing both good and bad in the reclusive country, and staying honest about her characters' flaws and courage. Despite it's minor shortcomings, Demick's landmark study pries open one of the most compulsive topics in the modern sphere and forces us to accept our role in its formation, and rally hope and anger for its demise.