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4.47 AVERAGE
4.47 AVERAGE
Really great discussion book. And it's just insane that these things were happening in my lifetime.
This book was heartbreaking at times, but enlightening about the isolated world that is North Korea in the modern era. The stories are wonderfully crafted with the perfect balance of telling real people's lives and providing political and historical context. The author's accounts lend testament to the tremendous courage and resilience of people and provide an important education in a very concise and engaging novel.
An incredibly riveting book that perfectly balances history and humanity. I have spent a lot of time reading about North Korea and I still found this book provided a new perspective and captivating story to tell. Would definitely recommend.
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Great way to learn about Korea! I've always
Known so little about this area and it's history, and was very happy to find this book. Short sweet and to the point. I'm horrified that the north Korea regime still keeps it's citizens repressed this way, it truly sounds like something from 1970's Russia
Known so little about this area and it's history, and was very happy to find this book. Short sweet and to the point. I'm horrified that the north Korea regime still keeps it's citizens repressed this way, it truly sounds like something from 1970's Russia
For starters I listened to this book and the narrator was not good. Everytime she attempted to say the Korean words I cringed. With that said this book is well written and there were some parts that really got to me. The thought that people in this day and age live a life like North Koreans. It made me feel even more grateful for the things I have.
Fascinating, horrific stuff. Not amazingly well written, but had some special moments and is very well researched. Not information you can otherwise easily come across!
Gives a pretty bottom-up perspective regarding daily lives in North Korea- for once, not a book attempting to dissect why the leadership behaves the way it does, but rather it shows the impacts of the people living in its regime. Extremely readable, touching, entertaining- of the many accounts to emerge through interviews with escapees, this is easily the best.
Utterly fascinating, from start to finish. I was instantly hooked and engrossed with all the stories of the defectors' stories, which were woven together seamlessly with currents events in North Korea on a broad scale. This is probably one of the few books I feel everyone should read, as it opened my eyes to a world completely unlike my own - and to think such atrocities are still being committed to this day in the totalitarian country! It's unbelievable at times to imagine children starving to death, but the details, research and stories are all there and slowly, you're able to picture the terrible scenarios. To reach the end of the book is a mixed bag of emotions; there is such happiness for some in finding themselves in a free land, but with the guilt and shame of leaving loved ones behind constantly plaguing every day life. An excellent and emotional read.