tarocannotread 's review for:

The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag by Pierre Rigoulot, Chol-Hwan Kang

5.0

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What a powerful story. I have read a couple of North Korean defector stories, all of them moving in their own right as they recount the absolute horrors and breaching of human rights that they faced. I am so saddened by the lives that have to endure the cruelty of an unsympathetic, repressive and corrupt government, who has gotten away with their terrible deeds for decades. The author is especially brave for writing this memoir, despite knowing what punishment would meet his family back in the North. I wish the truth did not cost so dearly. 5 out of 5 stars. I wish his whole family had made it out of there.