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4.47 AVERAGE
4.47 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.5 stars. An excellent book detailing the lives of 6 North Koreans who all defected from the north-eastern area of North Korea.
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
Barbara spent her life interviewing defectors from North Korea and this book tells of their every day lives when they were there. No real plot, but it is interesting to see the real accounts of life in North Korea.
I remember when Kim Jong-Il died, I was seeing on the news thousands of people crying their eyes out and collapsing on the ground screaming and I was thinking "These people are insane". I was very young, knew very few things about North Korea and obviously had no idea of the level of brainwashing they go through from the moment they're born.
This book is amazing in all aspects. It is so well-researched (the author is a journalist after all), the descriptions about the political system, the societal structure, the history, are so meticulous and clear that you can start the book without having the faintest idea about North Korea and finishing it with a solid understanding. It is both a page-turner and at the same time so difficult to read due to all the horrors described. I particularly appreciated that the tone of the book was not dramatic, even the most dreadful events the interviewees suffered were presented in a matter-of-fact fashion, and they were still gut-wrenching. It's another thing knowing that people in North Korea have it rough, and another reading personal testimonials of how people were constantly surveilled and had to worship their leader under threat of imprisonment, how they had to starve for years and years with no food and electricity and the lengths they had to go to in order to escape.
I was truly amazed by the six protagonists (and the many more defectors who contributed with their stories), their endurance, their sacrifices, and the courage to come forward and share their experiences. This is a book I would definitely recommend to anyone.
This book is amazing in all aspects. It is so well-researched (the author is a journalist after all), the descriptions about the political system, the societal structure, the history, are so meticulous and clear that you can start the book without having the faintest idea about North Korea and finishing it with a solid understanding. It is both a page-turner and at the same time so difficult to read due to all the horrors described. I particularly appreciated that the tone of the book was not dramatic, even the most dreadful events the interviewees suffered were presented in a matter-of-fact fashion, and they were still gut-wrenching. It's another thing knowing that people in North Korea have it rough, and another reading personal testimonials of how people were constantly surveilled and had to worship their leader under threat of imprisonment, how they had to starve for years and years with no food and electricity and the lengths they had to go to in order to escape.
I was truly amazed by the six protagonists (and the many more defectors who contributed with their stories), their endurance, their sacrifices, and the courage to come forward and share their experiences. This is a book I would definitely recommend to anyone.
challenging
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
North Korea.
Outstanding!
After a reread for a book club, I found this as interesting as I did a few years ago. I admit fascination with this bizarre country, constantly in the news for all the wrong reasons.
Outstanding!
After a reread for a book club, I found this as interesting as I did a few years ago. I admit fascination with this bizarre country, constantly in the news for all the wrong reasons.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Wow. I'm obsessed with DPRK now. I read this book with jaw hanging open, and I'm not really exaggerating. Jake would be trying to fall asleep, and I would be all, "wait! I have to tell you this one other thing about Kim Il Sung!"
And the famine. Oh my god. It's embarrassing, but in the 1990s, I. HAD. NO. IDEA.
FASCINATING. I think we're nearing some sort of shift with North Korea too. Perhaps it will all fall apart and open up, and those people can awake from what amounts to basically a 100 year nightmare.
And the famine. Oh my god. It's embarrassing, but in the 1990s, I. HAD. NO. IDEA.
FASCINATING. I think we're nearing some sort of shift with North Korea too. Perhaps it will all fall apart and open up, and those people can awake from what amounts to basically a 100 year nightmare.