Reviews tagging 'War'

Nothing to Envy: Love, Life and Death in North Korea by Barbara Demick

9 reviews

estheresr's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

4.0

Interesting and informative, written by an American reporter and based on interviews with North Korean defectors, it offers insight into the lives of ordinary people in North Korea. It has a distinctive American perspective, which has both advantages and disadvantages for American readers, and also touches on some of the issues of reintegration faced by defectors 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

mildnothing's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War

cepbreed's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.0

My heart and mind are so heavy. For the first time I’ve struggled to sleep after reading a book. The thought of the thousands of starving children, so destitute they don’t own shoes, never mind even a singular morsel of food to eat. I’ve been interested in learning more about the aftermath of the Korean War for a while but I don’t know if I can continue pursuing the topic. One thought about all of those Korean people does make it hard to think of anything else. 

I appreciate Barbara Demick’s knowledge of the topic and her closed pool of defectors that she interviewed, but some part of this book felt like she wasn’t giving readers enough credit. Some bits were needlessly repeated. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Terminal illness, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Excrement, and Cannibalism

jenniesreadingjourney's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Slavery, Police brutality, Dementia, Medical trauma, Abortion, Gaslighting, and Deportation

sapphicshark's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, and War

marissab's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Gaslighting, and War

Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Grief, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

parasolcrafter's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

5.0

this is another one of those books that ive read that i really dont know what to say because it really does speak for itself. i really appreciate how in depth it went into everything because North Korea really isnt a country i knew much about going into it and the atrocities that went on there, so this book is quite invaluable in the knowledge it has

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Deportation

Moderate: Excrement and Cannibalism

helenamichelle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, War, and Classism

astrangewind's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

4.75

This book is intense, but worth the read.

The oppression faced by North Koreans is unimaginable, and this book brings that to life through a cast of defectors. The facts tell their own story of the struggle to survive. Reading about the famine was almost too much, but I enjoyed reading about their escape. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal death, Physical abuse, War, and Deportation

Minor: Torture, Trafficking, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail