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4.48 AVERAGE
4.48 AVERAGE
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
I have read a number of books written by North Korean defectors but I think this is the best on the topic. The author is an LA Times bureau chief and it primarily follows the lives of 6 defectors over 15 years. As a Western author she was able to provide a perspective that I appreciated as she explained the broader history of North Korea while still sharing individual experiences.
As with every other book I have read about this strange little corner of the world, I come away saddened for the people and awakened to the cost of bad government. This book covers the final years of Kim Il Sung’s life and into Kim Jong Il’s. I would like to read something taking place now.
Just one little tidbit. Every house in NK is required to have a wall with the photos of The Kims. No other items can be on the wall except a small box with a special cleaning cloth that can only be used for these images. Once a month inspectors from the Public Standards Police would stop by to inspect the cleanliness of the portraits.
As with every other book I have read about this strange little corner of the world, I come away saddened for the people and awakened to the cost of bad government. This book covers the final years of Kim Il Sung’s life and into Kim Jong Il’s. I would like to read something taking place now.
Just one little tidbit. Every house in NK is required to have a wall with the photos of The Kims. No other items can be on the wall except a small box with a special cleaning cloth that can only be used for these images. Once a month inspectors from the Public Standards Police would stop by to inspect the cleanliness of the portraits.
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
As fascinating as it is depressing. And unbelievable that it is still a going concern.
Incredibly interesting. Reads like a novel but is densely packed with first-hand accounts.
After reading this book I am amazed at the conditions that people in North Korea live in. I knew a little about North Korea prior to reading this but I did not realize the extent of the government and powerlessness of the people. I am looking forward to incorporating this into my Global classes. The book paints a great picture of the lifestyles of the people.
Listened on audiobook and found this very fascinating. Great for the audiobook medium. I truthfully didn’t know much about North Korean aside from their country being on the butt end of any political or dictatorship joke. It is wild how well George Orwell predicted this exact type of totalitarianism. The daily lives read like several overlapping first person account from the book 1984. Things were far more bleak than I imagined honestly; severe famine and fear of getting sent to prison camps were rampant. This book was written around 2010 so I wonder how things have changed with Kim Jong Un taking over.
Eye-opening and tragic, this narrative-journalistic compilation of defectors' stories draws you into the very real "1984" that is the extremely isolated North Korea. It's amazing that such a civilization exists to this day...
