Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea Reprint Edition

by Barbara Demick (Author)

1,503 customer reviews

in Asian American Studies

ISBN-13: 978-0385523912

ISBN-10: 0385523912

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An eye-opening account of life inside North Korea—a closed world of increasing global importance—hailed as a “tour de force of meticulous reporting” (The New York Review of Books)

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST

In this landmark addition to the literature of totalitarianism, award-winning journalist Barbara Demick follows the lives of six North Korean citizens over fifteen years—a chaotic period that saw the death of Kim Il-sung, the rise to power of his son Kim Jong-il (the father of Kim Jong-un), and a devastating famine that killed one-fifth of the population.

Demick brings to life what it means to be living under the most repressive regime today—an Orwellian world that is by choice not connected to the Internet, where displays of affection are punished, informants are rewarded, and an offhand remark can send a person to the gulag for life. She takes us deep inside the country, beyond the reach of government censors, and through meticulous and sensitive reporting we see her subjects fall in love, raise families, nurture ambitions, and struggle for survival. One by one, we witness their profound, life-altering disillusionment with the government and their realization that, rather than providing them with lives of abundance, their country has betrayed them.

Praise for Nothing to Envy

“Provocative . . . offers extensive evidence of the author’s deep knowledge of this country while keeping its sights firmly on individual stories and human details.”—The New York Times

“Deeply moving . . . The personal stories are related with novelistic detail.”—The Wall Street Journal

“A tour de force of meticulous reporting.”—The New York Review of Books

“Excellent . . . humanizes a downtrodden, long-suffering people whose individual lives, hopes and dreams are so little known abroad.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“The narrow boundaries of our knowledge have expanded radically with the publication of Nothing to Envy. . . . Elegantly structured and written, [it] is a groundbreaking work of literary nonfiction.”—John Delury, Slate

“At times a page-turner, at others an intimate study in totalitarian psychology.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Following six North Koreans over the course of 15 years, Demick offers a haunting portrait of life in North Korea. Her subjects are instantly relatable—they fall in love, raise families—but as their country grows increasingly isolated, totalitarian, and repressive, and is ravaged by unemployment and famine, they risk everything to leave. Karen White delivers a stunning reading; her character interpretations are confident and well-rounded, and she forges a strong bond with the audience. Powerful without becoming overwrought, White handles the harrowing material with sensitivity and intelligence. An unforgettable listening experience that will resonate long after the final sentence. A Random hardcover (Reviews, Sept. 28). (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* In spite of the strict restrictions on foreign press, award-winning journalist Demick caught telling glimpses of just how surreal and mournful life is in North Korea. Her chilling impressions of a dreary, muffled, and depleted land are juxtaposed with a uniquely to-the-point history of how North Korea became an industrialized Communist nation supported by the Soviet Union and China and ruled by Kim Il Sung, then collapsed catastrophically into poverty, darkness, and starvation under the dictator’s son, Kim Jong Il. Demick’s bracing chronicle of the horrific consequences of decades of brutality provide the context for the wrenching life stories of North Korean defectors who confided in Demick. Mi-ran explains that even though her “tainted blood” (her father was a South Korean POW) kept her apart from the man she loved, she managed to become a teacher, only to watch her starving students waste away. Dr. Kim Ki-eum could do nothing to help her dying patients. Mrs. Song, a model citizen, was finally forced to face cruel facts. Strongly written and gracefully structured, Demick’s potent blend of personal narratives and piercing journalism vividly and evocatively portrays courageous individuals and a tyrannized state within a saga of unfathomable suffering punctuated by faint glimmers of hope. --Donna Seaman --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product details

Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau; Reprint edition (September 21, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385523912
ISBN-13: 978-0385523912
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1,503 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,632 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Specific Demographics > Asian American Studies
- #1 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Asia
- #1 in Books > History > Asia > Korea > North

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There is everything to envy

ByS. Warfieldon February 14, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is the best book about North Korean daily life that I have read so far, especially for the years during the North Korean famine. Author and journalist Barbara Demick details the lives of several ordinary citizens and tells of their daily struggles to find food and the ways in which they worked so hard to keep their families and themselves alive. There are sad stories in this book, but it is also a tribute to these people who have shown the power of the will to live and to see their children live.

Through the life stories of these citizens, the author has gone through what they had to do individually and as a group or family in order to survive. One woman in particular, Mrs. Song, who was the perfect North Korean citizen, was very industrious and resourceful in finding ways to make a little bit of money at a time in order to buy food for the next meal for her family. But she, along with many other North Koreans, went against what the government wanted and set up their own little individual businesses which might have been a tarp on the ground with biscuits for sale. After a while, these little "black market" enterprises made enough money for the people setting them up that they were able to buy more food than they had before, and provided a bit of food for the hungry to buy if they had any to spend at all.

American and other foreign aid in the form of grains, powdered milk and other food goods was sent in huge supplies to North Korea, but a lot of it never got to the people, but wound up being sold on the black market. While his people died of starvation, Kim Jong Il spent millions on food for himself from all over the world that was luxurious and exotic. This is the way of despots and dictators in repressed societies where, like in this one, the slogan was "Let's Eat Two Meals a Day" when most were lucky to eat grass boiled in water. But things get to a certain point when the people who are hard line believers in their government begin to realize that they have been lied to their entire lives. Many of these people defect or make the effort to defect from a northernmost city like Chongjin into China and either into Mongolia and on to South Korea or to Southeast Asia to make their way to a destination where they will be free.

Through these lengthy interviews with the people in the book, the author has given us a realistic and thoughtful look at North Korea. If you read nothing else on the subject, I recommend that you read this.

0Comment 7 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Poignant, True Stories of North Koreans Who Escaped

ByT-Rex 5on October 11, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book has a different format compared to many North Korea books. In this book, the author starts with telling the story of the lives of several North Koreans in various walks of life. Of course, we know from the beginning, that regardless of how unlikely it seems, at some point all of these people are going to escape North Korea in order to be able to tell their story. We learn the story of how these individuals grew up and lived in North Korea, their thoughts about their government and now Eternal Leader Kim, how they lived through the starvation years of the 90's, and the long road leading to why they decided to defect (or in 1 case, was tricked by a family member into defection, and how they finally were able to defect to South Korea. We learn what happened to some of their family members left behind, about their attempts to rescue family members trapped in North Korea (some successful and some not), and the sometimes harsh adjustment to the freedom and capitalism of South Korea. The author details the difficulty and perils involved for North Koreans to defect and safely make it sanctity in South Korea. We learn about a young man left an orphan whose father had been Party member, a pediatrician whose greatest dream was to be allowed to join the Party, a housewife with 2 young children and an abusive husband, a young woman and her "forbidden" boyfriend, a factory worker who had absolute loyalty to the regime, and several more. The stories are poignant and heartwarming, showing vividly the humanity of people trapped in North Korea. This book also covers the operation of the government and its regimentation over people's lives from a historical viewpoint, how this all changed (slightly for the better) during the starvation years of the 90's, and the newer changes (for the worse) under Kim Jong-un. Also covered are the issues and problems involved as former North Koreans adjust to a life of capitalism and freedom in South Korea. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to go beyond the history of and current living situation in North Korea, to hear the stories of real people surviving in and then escaping from North Korea.

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Just what I was seeking!

ByJulia Johnsonon December 12, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I too was intensely curious about what lies behind the eyes of North Koreans I see in documentaries. I study their expressions and feel a strong human connection but I find them unreadable. I devoured this book in two sittings; it's captivating. I sympathized with young Zin-mi in Mansky's film "Under the Sun" (also highly recommended) and this book was excellent in relating what life is really like for a few North Koreans. We hear a lot about the political side of things, but if you're curious to know how those big picture issues affect the lives of actual citizens, this is a must read. The author does this beautifully. Thank you, Barbara.

I wish nothing but the best for our North Korean cousins - whether in and out of their homeland. You've stolen this American's heart.

0Comment 9 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

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Most recent customer reviews

Intriguing

Very good. Took me a bit to memorize all the names and situations of the individuals because the author did some jumping around.Read more

Published 23 hours ago by Kindle Customer

North Korea from a defector's prospective

This narrative moved slowly, but accurately.

Published 4 days ago by jean kelley

Four Stars

very interesting but would have preferred more context at the beginning

Published 4 days ago by bill kramer

Worthwhile Reading

A little slow in places, but overall a very interesting and well documented look into the lives of everyday folks in North Korea

Published 4 days ago by TomTommyC

Insightful & thought provoking

Very compelling book. Offers the reader a understanding of Korean history as well as the realistic lives of people today in N Korea.Read more

Published 13 days ago by laura Amazon Customer

Great read

This was a riveting story that brings you in to the lives of several North Koreans and their lives both before and after escaping the country

Published 15 days ago by Kindle Customer

Great history

Great history and background on this secretive nation. It is well worth the read. Increased my understanding of what it means to be North Korean.

Published 18 days ago by John R Foster

Excellent, informative, thought-provoking read

North Korea has been in the news a lot of late, or so it seems with Kim Jong-un’s continual efforts at upping the crazy quotient and the recent death of Otto Warmbier.Read more

Published 22 days ago by A. Murphy

Yes, it was and is this bad

I can claim little knowledge regarding North Korea, and a point made late in the book is worth attention: Those who defect are likely misfits and they may well be misfits...Read more

Published 24 days ago by Ron L

Personal stories about living in North Korea

This book gives you in depth insight into what it is like to have lived in North Korea during the last fifty years. It is a modern day tragedy.

Published 26 days ago by james k anderson

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