50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Probably the best book about North Korea, 15 July 2010
Once I started reading 'Nothing to Envy' I couldn't put it down. I've read several books on North Korea but this is probably the broadest and most human book I have read. It gives us fascinating insights into all of the strangest and cruellest aspects of the regime: the gulags, the cult of personality, the military, the class structure, the difficulties in integrating into a different country and an extremely disturbing and heartbreaking account of the famine. The stories come from a collection of 6 different North Koreans who eventually fled and defected to South Korea; amongst them are two young lovers - one an academic and one an elementary school teacher; a doctor; an orphaned boy; and a faithful communist and seemingly unwavering "believer" in the regime. One of the more interesting angles in the book are that all of the characters live and work in the North Eastern city of Chongjin (North Korea's 3rd largest city) which gives us a greater insight into the "real" North Korea that exists outside the show capital of Pyongyang. I'd definitely recommend this book to anybody interested in North Korea and it would also be a great starting point for those who don't know too much about the regime but are interested to learn as it is very broad and covers many aspects of what it is like for North Koreans. And to top it all of Barbara Demick's writing is beautiful - there are many memorable lines and images that she creates.
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40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Insight into North Korea and superbly written, 29 April 2010
This book really does give you a glimpse as to what daily life is like within North Korea. It also gives accurate and compelling accounts on the process or 'defection' and what North Koreans have to go though to actually escape this repressive regime.
I don't read many books and I recommend even fewer, although this by far would be my recommendation for the year! It is a humbling and fascinating eye opener into the world of North Korea and to read about the depravity that these poor people have to life through daily.
I was sad to reach the end of this book as I wanted to continue reading what happens to these peoples lives in the long run. It appears to be superbly researched and accurate (as can be) on detail. It couldn't put this book down while reading it and I hope to read it again soon. I would not hesitate for once second to recommend this book to anybody.
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98 of 103 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
North Korea through the lens or reality, not the State or the Media, 1 April 2010
Reading this book hot on the heals of my trip to North Korea really brought a personal perspective to a country I have observed through the prism of the media, and the rather unfiltered trip I recently experienced.
Having met Barbara Demick at the literary event where I purchased this book I was able to sample a rather intriguing appetizer of what was to come, however neither the discussion, nor my trip was to prepare me for the heartrending accounts of human adversity.
It is no secret that North Korea is a totalitarian state mired in abject poverty, but this timely volume provides personal accounts, putting human faces on North Koreas anonymous victims.
Nothing to Envy draws its title from a poems verse DPRK school children are made to recite, stating "we have nothing to envy in the world." While most in the West are able to see through that façade, the book takes us through a recollection of events wherein six DPRK citizens residing in North Koreas third largest city, Chongjin, eventually see through the ubiquitous illusion force fed upon the population, and endure heartbreaking hardship to flee the secretive state.
The book begins with the story of a young couple who use the all encapsulating darkness of the energy starved state to conduct a secret love affair, rendered almost impossible due to the class backgrounds within a supposedly classless society. Slowly we are introduced to more victims of North Koreas increasingly bleak disposition, all the while the story weaves back and forth between the main protagonists.
We learn how efficient and draconian the state apparatus is in the enforcement of state loyalty, how truly devastating the North Korean famine of mid 90s was, and also the continued hardship facing North Koreans after they have defected.
Not only do North Koreans face the difficult of adjusting to life outside their isolated country, but face cruel exploitation at the hands of Chinese people smugglers and people traffickers. Additionally, we learn of the risk of being caught by the Chinese authorities, who unlike most other countries, will deport North Koreans back to their home country, where they face harsh punishment.
Nothing to Envy has a cleverly arranged narrative, introducing more characters but holding the readers interest upon each one. It is delicately and beautifully written, and is compulsive, though heartbreaking reading.
A strongly recommended book, palatable to people of many interests, whether it is politics, sociology, travel, or anyone who enjoys accounts of human experience and the triumph of the human spirit.
A compelling, beautiful, and truly unforgettable book.
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