Nothing to Envy
Nothing to Envy: Real Lives in North Korea, by Barbara Demick
Blurb:Nothing to Envy follows the lives of six North Koreans over fifteen years—a chaotic period that saw the death of Kim Il-sung, the unchallenged rise to power of his son Kim Jong-il, and the devastation of a far-ranging famine that killed one-fifth of the population. Taking us into a landscape most of us have never before seen, award-winning journalist Barbara Demick brings to life what it means to be living under the most repressive totalitarian regime today—an Orwellian world that is by choice not connected to the Internet, in which radio and television dials are welded to the one government station, and where displays of affection are punished; a police state where informants are rewarded and where an offhand remark can send a person to the gulag for life. Demick takes us deep inside the country, beyond the reach of government censors. Through meticulous and sensitive reporting, we see her six subjects—average North Korean citizens—fall in love, raise families, nurture ambitions, and struggle for survival. One by one, we experience the moments when they realize that their government has betrayed them.Okay, so I freely admit that I brought this book for the cover; something about it just grabbed me, however, I'm also curious about the lives of people in North Korea and thought it would be an interesting read. In that regard it did not let me down! For history lovers, or people who are interested in world events and how other people live, this is a really fascinating read, although heartbreaking at time since these aren't fictional characters, the stories in this book are told by real people although some things have been changed to keep their identities secret. However, despite the horrendous conditions people live in, the stories that came out of this book were about love and family and survival. Before reading this, I had very little knowledge on North Korean history, I only really knew the current situation that you hear of in the News, so this book was very eye opening for me.My only complaint would be that I found the writing rather flat, no matter the situation the pace was the same. I know this is a non-fiction book, meaning I should adjust my way of thinking since I'm used to reading mainly fiction, however, I just found it very slow-going at time and I feel like the trudging pace of this book might put some readers off. Basically it was like reading a very long newspaper article instead of a book. All in all though, I thought this book was really interesting and I'd definitely recommend it if you can push on through the writing and simply appreciate the real stories and feelings in this book! 
My favourite quotes from 'Nothing to Envy': 'Well past the point when it should have been obvious that the system had failed her, she remained unwavering in her faith.' '... you can't feed somebody else's kids if your own are starving.'
Blurb:Nothing to Envy follows the lives of six North Koreans over fifteen years—a chaotic period that saw the death of Kim Il-sung, the unchallenged rise to power of his son Kim Jong-il, and the devastation of a far-ranging famine that killed one-fifth of the population. Taking us into a landscape most of us have never before seen, award-winning journalist Barbara Demick brings to life what it means to be living under the most repressive totalitarian regime today—an Orwellian world that is by choice not connected to the Internet, in which radio and television dials are welded to the one government station, and where displays of affection are punished; a police state where informants are rewarded and where an offhand remark can send a person to the gulag for life. Demick takes us deep inside the country, beyond the reach of government censors. Through meticulous and sensitive reporting, we see her six subjects—average North Korean citizens—fall in love, raise families, nurture ambitions, and struggle for survival. One by one, we experience the moments when they realize that their government has betrayed them.Okay, so I freely admit that I brought this book for the cover; something about it just grabbed me, however, I'm also curious about the lives of people in North Korea and thought it would be an interesting read. In that regard it did not let me down! For history lovers, or people who are interested in world events and how other people live, this is a really fascinating read, although heartbreaking at time since these aren't fictional characters, the stories in this book are told by real people although some things have been changed to keep their identities secret. However, despite the horrendous conditions people live in, the stories that came out of this book were about love and family and survival. Before reading this, I had very little knowledge on North Korean history, I only really knew the current situation that you hear of in the News, so this book was very eye opening for me.My only complaint would be that I found the writing rather flat, no matter the situation the pace was the same. I know this is a non-fiction book, meaning I should adjust my way of thinking since I'm used to reading mainly fiction, however, I just found it very slow-going at time and I feel like the trudging pace of this book might put some readers off. Basically it was like reading a very long newspaper article instead of a book. All in all though, I thought this book was really interesting and I'd definitely recommend it if you can push on through the writing and simply appreciate the real stories and feelings in this book! My favourite quotes from 'Nothing to Envy': 'Well past the point when it should have been obvious that the system had failed her, she remained unwavering in her faith.' '... you can't feed somebody else's kids if your own are starving.'
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