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4.47 AVERAGE
4.47 AVERAGE
dark
funny
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
Even before I was halfway through this book, I was telling people to read it. This little glimpse into the lives of North Koreans during the 1990s and early 2000s was eye-opening and disturbing. I can't believe how successful North Korea has been in cutting off its people from the rest of the world and vice versa. Demick has put together a work that is both informative and engaging; the breadth of her research is incredible. Even after reading this book, it is so hard to wrap my mind around the fact that this crazy dystopian land is a real place where real people live. Truly stranger than fiction and morbidly fascinating.
The book only takes the reader up through the early/mid-2000s, so I'm interested to know what impact, if any, the death of Kim Jong-il and the subsequent rise of Kim Jong-un has had on the country. And, I'd like to know if the number of North Koreans that defect on a yearly basis has changed since the mid-2000s.
The book only takes the reader up through the early/mid-2000s, so I'm interested to know what impact, if any, the death of Kim Jong-il and the subsequent rise of Kim Jong-un has had on the country. And, I'd like to know if the number of North Koreans that defect on a yearly basis has changed since the mid-2000s.
I didn’t really have much knowledge regarding North Korea and its history before reading this book. Since the country has been so closed off to the rest of the world, it has always been shrouded in some mystery. It’s amazing, actually, how isolated most of the population was/is.
In this book, Barbara Demick follows the lives of six “ordinary” people who she was able to interview extensively. There were times as I was reading where I had to remind myself that these were true life accounts; not fiction. Part of this was due to Demick’s writing, which really brought the plights of these people to life.
The book is 14 years old now and all I can think about is if things are still relatively the same now. I would think that it must be much harder with today’s technology for a country to keep its citizenry in the dark about the rest of the world.
This is a great book for anyone who wants to dip their toes into a little history of North Korea and take a peek behind the curtain as to what life is like.
In this book, Barbara Demick follows the lives of six “ordinary” people who she was able to interview extensively. There were times as I was reading where I had to remind myself that these were true life accounts; not fiction. Part of this was due to Demick’s writing, which really brought the plights of these people to life.
The book is 14 years old now and all I can think about is if things are still relatively the same now. I would think that it must be much harder with today’s technology for a country to keep its citizenry in the dark about the rest of the world.
This is a great book for anyone who wants to dip their toes into a little history of North Korea and take a peek behind the curtain as to what life is like.
Any book that draws me in to where I’m sneaking around to read deserves 5 stars.
Absolutely stunning work detailing all these stories. I learned a ton about North Korean history and the way of life of people living there post WW2 and Korean War. Unbelievable this book exists and can feel the thoroughness with every page. Cannot recommend this more.
Gripping look into life in North Korea. I loved that she followed the stories of individuals from the same region but with different backgrounds.
Shocking, fascinating, and utterly heartbreaking, Nothing To Envy provides an eye opening glance into everyday life in North Korea and how this totalitarian paradise scars and terrorizes its citizens.
As somebody with an in-depth fascination over this bizarre country, I found Nothing To Envy to be an incredibly interesting journalistic approach towards the subject. It married individual storytelling, history, and theory into one perfectly wrapped package. Demick’s writing style helped the audience build their own relationship with each defector who each had their very own unique and shocking story. I loved how in depth and detailed the information provided was and learned so many new things about the country and defecting that I have never known before. However, as a fair warning this book is gutting. The things covered go far past the point of traumatizing so if you are in a more sensitive state I recommend putting this read off for a bit.
Out of all the books I have read about North Korea, Nothing To Envy is the new favorite.
As somebody with an in-depth fascination over this bizarre country, I found Nothing To Envy to be an incredibly interesting journalistic approach towards the subject. It married individual storytelling, history, and theory into one perfectly wrapped package. Demick’s writing style helped the audience build their own relationship with each defector who each had their very own unique and shocking story. I loved how in depth and detailed the information provided was and learned so many new things about the country and defecting that I have never known before. However, as a fair warning this book is gutting. The things covered go far past the point of traumatizing so if you are in a more sensitive state I recommend putting this read off for a bit.
Out of all the books I have read about North Korea, Nothing To Envy is the new favorite.
This was an informative book that read like a novel. The author weaves the history of North Korea with the lives of six citizens. Since NK is a closed nation, I knew nothing about it. Now I feel like I have a good foundation for future learning. I also understand a little bit why the country's leadership hates us so. Korea was arbitrarily divided across the middle by some military officers in Washington, DC.The South has a better climate and land. North Korea consists of a barren, mountainous topography. The climate is harsher as well. Of course, most of the hatred is drummed up and perpetuated by corrupt, cruel dictators.There is much in this book that is shocking and nightmarish and, I dare say, most Americans don't know.
A harrowing recollection of 6 survivors from North Korea. It reminded me of East Germany stories after WWII but, frankly, worse. I liked it because of the resiliency of the people who defected. Talk about incredible! I also liked it because it explained some of the nuanced history and perspective of why North Korea and South Korea behave as the countries currently do.