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roseleaf24's review against another edition
4.0
I'm so glad to be done with this book. I'm glad I read it. It was very powerful, and very well-written. However, I had no idea that life in North Korea was this bad. This book described things that I ascribe to Hitler's Germany or Stalinist Russia, not ongoing life in a present-day regime. I want to be doing something about this; I want our country to be doing something about this, but I know how impossible a task it is.
The brutality and hopelessness of the first 70 or so pages was really difficult for me to get through. At that point, I found a glimmer of hope that I was able to latch onto, and that pulled me in. The plot and the characters easily carried the story, and it became very difficult to put down. It was also difficult to pick back up, though, and I couldn't read it before going to bed, so it took me longer to finish than it otherwise would have. Well-deserving of the award, and I hope a lot of people read it and have their eyes opened as I did, but I doubt I'll be recommending it, and I won't be reading it again. ;-)
The brutality and hopelessness of the first 70 or so pages was really difficult for me to get through. At that point, I found a glimmer of hope that I was able to latch onto, and that pulled me in. The plot and the characters easily carried the story, and it became very difficult to put down. It was also difficult to pick back up, though, and I couldn't read it before going to bed, so it took me longer to finish than it otherwise would have. Well-deserving of the award, and I hope a lot of people read it and have their eyes opened as I did, but I doubt I'll be recommending it, and I won't be reading it again. ;-)
angelamichelle's review against another edition
3.0
I think this is one of those books where you might enjoy it more if you go into with a little more background info than I had. I felt confused for many pages. By the end, I was on board.
colleengeedrumm's review against another edition
4.0
The longer the night, the shorter the morning.
Americans do pointless labor for fun. (Exercise)
Americans do pointless labor for fun. (Exercise)
nderiley's review against another edition
5.0
A beautiful work of fiction grounded in the fascinating and horrifying world of North Korea
andrea59's review against another edition
1.0
No suelo reseñar los libros que no me gustaron, pero voy a hacer una excepción para dejar algo bien claro: No entiendo porque el autor ha ganado un Pulitzer con esto.
No es realista. Si alguien de verdad está interesado en Corea del Norte no le recomiendo para nada leer este libro. Sería mucho mejor que leyeran [b: Pyongyang|80834|Pyongyang A Journey in North Korea|Guy Delisle|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327884533s/80834.jpg|204166] de Guy Delisle o [b: The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag|69951|The Aquariums of Pyongyang Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag|Kang Chol-Hwan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347466523s/69951.jpg|67774], el testimonio de un hombre que escapó del país.
Además, ¡en Corea del Norte no existe una persecución militar hacia la homosexualidad! Un norcoreano que huyó al Sur lo dijo en una entrevista. ¿El autor ni se ha molestado en investigar o qué?
No es realista. Si alguien de verdad está interesado en Corea del Norte no le recomiendo para nada leer este libro. Sería mucho mejor que leyeran [b: Pyongyang|80834|Pyongyang A Journey in North Korea|Guy Delisle|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327884533s/80834.jpg|204166] de Guy Delisle o [b: The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag|69951|The Aquariums of Pyongyang Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag|Kang Chol-Hwan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347466523s/69951.jpg|67774], el testimonio de un hombre que escapó del país.
Además, ¡en Corea del Norte no existe una persecución militar hacia la homosexualidad! Un norcoreano que huyó al Sur lo dijo en una entrevista. ¿El autor ni se ha molestado en investigar o qué?
vickiv's review against another edition
2.0
If life in N. Korea is anything like this book makes it seem ... it sucks worse than imagined. Not sure I enjoyed the writing"," though. Skipped around a bit .. hard to follow ... didn't really understand the main character.
ettuladyblue's review against another edition
1.0
This felt too much like it was trying to be clever satire of the perception Americans have of North Korea and the similarities between the two. But I felt like the novel was sacrificed for the sake of the "look how clever I am" plotting and it dragged hard for me. I've read better dystopia and I've read better satire. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth to have North Korea feeling like window dressing.
spamrisk's review against another edition
5.0
If you fall in love,
Don't be in North Korea.
They are not nice there.
Don't be in North Korea.
They are not nice there.
margots926's review against another edition
5.0
aye caramba! Amazing. Mix of DPRK fiction and western onlooking (fantasy esque). so violent at times but also an epic love saga.
nancy33's review against another edition
3.0
It was an interesting premise, but I felt that it dragged along at points.