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4.47 AVERAGE
4.47 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
medium-paced
Wow - I learned a lot from this book. It's incredible what the people of North Korea have lived through. I know there are other books published more recently that I plan to read as I'm curious to hear about the North Korean experience today. This regime is so secretive and scary, so this helps to make sure we all remember there are lots and lots of "ordinary people" living there.
“If North Koreans paused to contemplate the obvious inconsistencies and lies in what they were told, they would find themselves in a dangerous place. They didn't have a choice. They couldn't flee their country, depose their leadership, speak out, or protest. In order to fit in, the average citizen had to discipline himself not to think too much.”
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Another book that makes you glad you live in the US. It's amazing North Korea can have kept itself so isolated from the rest of the world in this day of such interconnectedness.
informative
medium-paced
My second read about North Korea this year. At one point very early on, I almost set it aside for not having the depth of the defection memoir I’d read previously. That would have been a major mistake. The author brings it painfully home through the stories of the lives of several defectors, including the harsh realities of post-defection life not addressed by the memoir (whose author I’m still worrying about). When will the suffering of the North Korean people ever end?
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
I’m struggling to find the words to describe this book — I’m at once glad I read it, and horrified of what I now know!
Demick’s voice is barely there, in a way that amplifies each of the personal stories. Her style of writing is so effective in this context — the language is stripped back and lays everything out as it is.
What that is, is harrowing, infuriating, and unbelievable! I had such a limited knowledge of Korean history and modern day North Korea, which made reading about it so shocking. I cannot wrap my head around the fact that it remains a black hole to this day.
It’s one thing to read a fictionalised interpretation of a totalitarian society, but another to read non-fiction accounts of one in the modern day. One of the defectors, when loaned a copy of 1984 by the author, was shocked to see how Orwell understood North Korea’s “brand”.
Definitely a must-read!
Demick’s voice is barely there, in a way that amplifies each of the personal stories. Her style of writing is so effective in this context — the language is stripped back and lays everything out as it is.
What that is, is harrowing, infuriating, and unbelievable! I had such a limited knowledge of Korean history and modern day North Korea, which made reading about it so shocking. I cannot wrap my head around the fact that it remains a black hole to this day.
It’s one thing to read a fictionalised interpretation of a totalitarian society, but another to read non-fiction accounts of one in the modern day. One of the defectors, when loaned a copy of 1984 by the author, was shocked to see how Orwell understood North Korea’s “brand”.
Definitely a must-read!
Truly a gripping book that gives insight to the North Korean culture. A book you cannot put down even though the individuals' are moving and heartbreaking.
Through the recollections of six North Korean defectors, LA Times Beijing based journalist, Barbara Demick, paints an exceedingly grim picture of the lives of everyday citizens of North Korea. The book is a great read and presents a telling first-hand look into a people and culture very far removed – geographically and ideologically – from our own.
Looking at a night time satellite photo, North Korea is practically invisible; a black hole devoid of energy; a stark contrast to its brightly lit neighbors South Korea, Japan and China. Similar to their scarcity of energy, the North Korean people are also lacking unfiltered knowledge and information about the world outside of their insular country. The only information they are allowed to receive is that conveyed by the government through print and limited television media. There is little power for the internet and, in any case, all access is blocked.
This handful of individuals tells of repression, starvation, deprivation, and mind control. One of the defectors, upon crossing the river into China, comes upon a bowl filled with rice and meat set out for a family’s pet dog. In an instant she realizes that the dogs in China eat better than the North Korean people. This is in direct contrast to what she has been taught to believe: that North Koreans have the best life thanks to their leader Kim Jong-il and his henchmen. No electricity, barely and food or health care, and an existence marked by fear and brainwashing. This is how the people of this country live out their lives led by a ruthless totalitarian despot who lives his life wanting for nothing. It is an unimaginably difficult and heart wrenching existence.
Looking at a night time satellite photo, North Korea is practically invisible; a black hole devoid of energy; a stark contrast to its brightly lit neighbors South Korea, Japan and China. Similar to their scarcity of energy, the North Korean people are also lacking unfiltered knowledge and information about the world outside of their insular country. The only information they are allowed to receive is that conveyed by the government through print and limited television media. There is little power for the internet and, in any case, all access is blocked.
This handful of individuals tells of repression, starvation, deprivation, and mind control. One of the defectors, upon crossing the river into China, comes upon a bowl filled with rice and meat set out for a family’s pet dog. In an instant she realizes that the dogs in China eat better than the North Korean people. This is in direct contrast to what she has been taught to believe: that North Koreans have the best life thanks to their leader Kim Jong-il and his henchmen. No electricity, barely and food or health care, and an existence marked by fear and brainwashing. This is how the people of this country live out their lives led by a ruthless totalitarian despot who lives his life wanting for nothing. It is an unimaginably difficult and heart wrenching existence.