traveling89 's review for:

Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea's Elite by Suki Kim

5.0

---

Something Witty Bookclub's March book. Not a book I'd would normally be drawn to, however coming on the heels of reading The road to Jonestown and Brave New World February has been a consistent month of shock and intrigue. I found myself researching the political families in North Korea and found myself disappointed about how little information there is available which was incredibly poignant considering how limited access to information is in the North Korean culture, and how that lack of access is truly mind boggling to me. Listening to Suki Kim's perspective and insight about how she essentially wanted to create a spark of realization that the rest of the world operates so differently then their country but also wanting to fiercely protect her students from the real harms of rebellion in North Korea gave a prospective how what lifelong conditioning truly looks like. It brought insight not only about the North Korean culture but also was able to shed light on how many in Jonestown and similar organizations can become so reliant on a certain way of life out of fear. Glad I was sucked into this book, but am looking forward to a lighthearted book next!