Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Není co závidět: obyčejné životy v Severní Koreji by Barbara Demick

17 reviews

lianne_rooney's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Deportation

gladiolus17's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful sad tense medium-paced

4.75

Absolutely loved this book. Made me feel the whole spectrum of emotions, and I’ve learned so much about North Korea.

The only thing I didn’t like was how the author tried to snap a picture of an overweight woman in North Korea?? Like, I understand why, many people are starving there, but I just found that rude!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Fatphobia

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

ajediprincess's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

I never expected this book to make it to my “must own” list, but nevertheless I now need this in my personal library. This book was an unforeseen journey for me and I feel I have been changed forever from reading it.

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea is a non-fiction account of the lives of six different people growing up and struggling to survive in North Korea across a fifteen year period in the 1990's and into the new millenium. It explores not only the culture, conditions, and political climate of North Korea but what daily life was like for the average citizen during a period of time where the former Supreme Leader Kim Il-sung died, his son Kim Jong-il rose to power, and the country saw a devastating famine that killed one-fifth of their population. It was written by award-winning American journalist Barbara Demick in 2009, following over 100 interviews she conducted with North Korean defectors from Chongjin.

I found it absolutely captivating in the most chilling way. There is political intrigue, love, indoctrination, heartbreak, imagination, censorship, abuse, triumph, devastation, economic collapse, perseverance, propaganda, and the uneasy, ever present threat of betrayal by one's own friends, family, and government. It completely transported me to the time and setting as I followed the day-to-day of each of the main “characters”: Mi-ran, Doctor Kim, Mrs. Song, Hyuck, Oak-hee, and Jun-sang. I watched with rapt suspense as they worked hard to overcome hurdle after hurdle just to survive and avoid finding themselves on the wrong side of the ruthless, totalitarian North Korean regime.

If you enjoy non-fiction and are curious about North Korea, I definitely recommend this book. It's written in such a way that it feels like a 3rd person close narrative, which I found immersive and effective. The author very briefly mentions herself and instead keeps the focus on each of the primary figures and their personal stories, giving us a realistic and sobering look at their experiences. I left this book with a new-found appreciation of the freedoms, rights, and opportunities my own country offers to its citizens. Many thanks to my dear friend, Chelsie, who recommended it to me! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Domestic abuse

mercurial's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring sad fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Domestic abuse

stevie's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Blood, Excrement, and Abortion