Heather G. (flyheatherfly) reviewed Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea on + 20 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
This is a quietly astounding book. The author tells of life in North Korea through the eyes of six people from the same area who defected to South Korea. Life there is unimaginable, perhaps due not to communism itself, but how it was 'doled out' by The Kim 'dynasty'. Hereditary communism .....is something that causes suffering for all but the elite.
The six people interviewed were from different socio economic groups, as well as raised in different levels of belief and support in and of the regime. It takes some longer than others to realize the situation they are in. The stories told during the famine will make you cry, it is almost incomprehensible that so many people suffered in this day and age .
The six people interviewed were from different socio economic groups, as well as raised in different levels of belief and support in and of the regime. It takes some longer than others to realize the situation they are in. The stories told during the famine will make you cry, it is almost incomprehensible that so many people suffered in this day and age .
Sharon D. (booklit) reviewed Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea on + 473 more book reviews
A very eye opening book. I loved this book. It was difficult to read to see all the awful things the people have to endure. I hate to hear young people in ore country wishing for communism.
Nancy A. (Chocoholic) reviewed Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea on + 291 more book reviews
As the title suggests, this book is about the lives of six people living in totalitarian North Korea. Though this book is nonfiction, it reads like a fictional book, with "characters" who just happen to really exist, plot and rising tension, and climactic decisions that change their lives forever. Author Barbara Demick deftly weaves together the stories of these six, together with information about life in North Korea, including a brief history of Korea, the Kim family's rise to power, healthcare in North Korea, a typical workday, a typical home, and the famine that I believe is still ongoing. Though this book was deeply disturbing from a human rights perspective, I think it is an important book to read to understand what is happening in our world. A really great read with lots of interesting information.
Jolene O. (esmestohelit) -
I feel kind of awful rating this 4 stars considering the subject matter. This book was both fascinating and heartbreaking. I didn't really know much about North Korea. The most I could have told you is they have nuclear missiles and their government hasn't changed much since the Korean war. I never would have guessed how bad things really were. I grew up a spoiled American. I don't mean spoiled in the sense that I got everything that I wanted. What I mean is, if we were out of food we were allowed to go to the store and buy more. If we could afford a new TV, we didn't need an official to ok us buying one. If we wanted to visit family we didn't have to get the ok from the government. We weren't told we couldn't live somewhere just because my brother is autistic and might embarrass my country if any visitors saw him. We didn't have to worry about friends and neighbors turning us in for making some offhanded quip about our country's president. We didn't have to worry about the government making surprise visits in the middle of the night to make sure we were following the rules. These are things North Koreans do have to worry about. I'm glad I read this book, but I feel like a little part of me died along with all those starving to death in the streets. I do not recommend this book for the faint of heart.
If you would like to get a little bit of a sense for what it is like to live in North Korea than this book will delight you. The book was well written and the author did her homework. I sometimes just flip through pages of books looking for the "good" parts but with this one I read it all and am glad I did.
Barbara J. (johnjohn) reviewed Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea on + 7 more book reviews
A fascinating view of life in North Korea. This book chronicles the life of former residents of the totalitarian regime and their flight to escape. The best book that I have read in a long time. You get to see how the North Koreans have to live and struggle to find enough food and heat resources to sustain life. Many don't make it and starve to death. People are required to spy on everyone and report if anyone complains about the government. They must report to work every day but get no paycheck for months and years on end. Electricity is sporadic and generally reserved for the capital Pyongyang. It makes you glad that you live in a capitalist country.
Chuck B. (chucker2010) reviewed Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea on + 21 more book reviews
NOTHING TO ENVY, Ordinary Lives In North Korea. Barbara Demick. Spiegel & Grau. 314 pages.$26.00
This is an insightful and detailed look at horrible everyday life in North Korea as described by men and women who lived there during the last 15 years. You wish it were fiction but the former Los Angeles Times Korea writer and current Times Beijing Bureau Chief depicts clearly that life north of the 38th parallel in the divided country is a harsh deadly existence. The "Hermit Kingdom" is cut off from its neighbors and the world. This last bastion of the failed Communism dream became a nightmare led by a dictator who makes even Cuba look happy and prosperous in comparison
The lights literally went out across the country in the 1990s when Russia stopped sending supplies. Factories closed, jobs and Party status disappeared and hunger slowly became starvation and years of famine. Citizens struggled as the socialist state became mere slogans, empty promises and 34,000 statues of the Grand Leader. The book is a series of accounts from defectors and, true journalist that she is, Demick has double checked and cross referenced the sources and adapted her newspaper style to make a book very much worth reading.
While millions continue to be spent on nuclear development and testing instead of rebuilding the economy, Kim Jong-il rebuffs international offers of humanitarian assistance for his helpless and hopeless people and has withdrawn from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Defectors say the national isolation and hatred for outsiders is fostered on all levels. "First-grade reader primers are filled with stories of children who were beaten, bayoneted, burned, splashed with acid or thrown into wells by villains who were invariably Christian missionaries, Japanese invaders or American imperialist bastards."
The jarring transition to freedom for individuals and families who escape to China or South Korea is described in aching detail by stunned survivors of this 21st century disaster. This book provides a hard look behind today's headlines.
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Charles Lee Boyd is a writer
who lives in Hanahan
[This review was submitted to the Charleston Post and Courier newspaper]
This is an insightful and detailed look at horrible everyday life in North Korea as described by men and women who lived there during the last 15 years. You wish it were fiction but the former Los Angeles Times Korea writer and current Times Beijing Bureau Chief depicts clearly that life north of the 38th parallel in the divided country is a harsh deadly existence. The "Hermit Kingdom" is cut off from its neighbors and the world. This last bastion of the failed Communism dream became a nightmare led by a dictator who makes even Cuba look happy and prosperous in comparison
The lights literally went out across the country in the 1990s when Russia stopped sending supplies. Factories closed, jobs and Party status disappeared and hunger slowly became starvation and years of famine. Citizens struggled as the socialist state became mere slogans, empty promises and 34,000 statues of the Grand Leader. The book is a series of accounts from defectors and, true journalist that she is, Demick has double checked and cross referenced the sources and adapted her newspaper style to make a book very much worth reading.
While millions continue to be spent on nuclear development and testing instead of rebuilding the economy, Kim Jong-il rebuffs international offers of humanitarian assistance for his helpless and hopeless people and has withdrawn from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Defectors say the national isolation and hatred for outsiders is fostered on all levels. "First-grade reader primers are filled with stories of children who were beaten, bayoneted, burned, splashed with acid or thrown into wells by villains who were invariably Christian missionaries, Japanese invaders or American imperialist bastards."
The jarring transition to freedom for individuals and families who escape to China or South Korea is described in aching detail by stunned survivors of this 21st century disaster. This book provides a hard look behind today's headlines.
########
Charles Lee Boyd is a writer
who lives in Hanahan
[This review was submitted to the Charleston Post and Courier newspaper]
Rose S. (ATraveler2) -
Fascinating!
John O. (buzzby) -
Very depressing book, even more so because the author tried to find good aspects of life in North Korea, as well.
