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Światu nie mamy czego zazdrościć. Zwyczajne losy mieszkańców Korei Północnej by Barbara Demick
sammibreads's review against another edition
4.0
Finished on the couch.
Hard to read at times but a really fantastic book. Focussing on real people’s stories and using them to showcase the experience of being in North Korea was well done. Would recommend.
Hard to read at times but a really fantastic book. Focussing on real people’s stories and using them to showcase the experience of being in North Korea was well done. Would recommend.
pboutin75's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
5.0
bellawoo's review against another edition
4.0
This would be 5 stars if I could imagine myself reading this again, but cultural non-fiction and commentary are rarely re-reads.
This book cobbles together the stories of six North Korean defectors, all of whom are neither the preferred elite class in Pyongyang nor the lowest of the low. They are in various strata of the population's core, all leading ordinary lives in North Korea. (Very accurate title for this book.) I understand so much more about why North Korea is the way that it is; it makes no predictions about the future nor does it make judgements about North Korean regime's political or economic decisions.
One of the true standout profiles are those of Mi-ran and Jun-sang, two youthful lovers. Though they lead separate lives and their story is told to Demick post-defection, I found myself cheering for both of them to make it out and be reunited. It is a rare skill for a non-fiction author to accurately retell someone else's story gripping enough to be believed as fiction.
Truly worth a read.
This book cobbles together the stories of six North Korean defectors, all of whom are neither the preferred elite class in Pyongyang nor the lowest of the low. They are in various strata of the population's core, all leading ordinary lives in North Korea. (Very accurate title for this book.) I understand so much more about why North Korea is the way that it is; it makes no predictions about the future nor does it make judgements about North Korean regime's political or economic decisions.
One of the true standout profiles are those of Mi-ran and Jun-sang, two youthful lovers. Though they lead separate lives and their story is told to Demick post-defection, I found myself cheering for both of them to make it out and be reunited. It is a rare skill for a non-fiction author to accurately retell someone else's story gripping enough to be believed as fiction.
Truly worth a read.
cemills's review against another edition
5.0
I. Ate. This. Up.
Barbara Demick brings to life the story of six North Koreans, all of different ages and backgrounds, and provides a look into what life is really like in North Korea... at least in the 70s 80s and 90s.
I learned so many new things about like in the DPRK that I didn't.
Like citizens don't shop because the government supposedly buys them everything they need.
In the 90s when the country thought it was going to go to war with the US college students had to sign papers IN BLOOD saying they would go to war for the country if needed!?
The love story that runs throughout this book is BEAUTIFUL and heartbreaking and frustrating.
I want to find a book just like this one that shows what life is like in 2020.
Barbara Demick brings to life the story of six North Koreans, all of different ages and backgrounds, and provides a look into what life is really like in North Korea... at least in the 70s 80s and 90s.
I learned so many new things about like in the DPRK that I didn't.
Like citizens don't shop because the government supposedly buys them everything they need.
In the 90s when the country thought it was going to go to war with the US college students had to sign papers IN BLOOD saying they would go to war for the country if needed!?
The love story that runs throughout this book is BEAUTIFUL and heartbreaking and frustrating.
I want to find a book just like this one that shows what life is like in 2020.
liviah's review against another edition
5.0
I first read this book in high school for a presentation about life in North Korea. Years later, it's still as interesting as the first time I read it. The writing style was engaging and full of such diverse stories despite all coming from a singular city in North Korea. I couldn't put it down.
cara_embree's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0