Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea Reprint Edition

by Barbara Demick (Author)

1,526 customer reviews

in Asian History

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: 1,526 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #679 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Asia
- #1 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Specific Demographics > Asian American Studies
- #1 in Books > Textbooks > Social Sciences > Anthropology

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Top customer reviews

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.

0Comment 32 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Bleak and Frightening Look Behind the North Korean Curtain

ByWilliam Capodannoon August 7, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

While eight years have passed since this book was published, little has changed with North Korea in terms of their isolation from the rest of the world. Told through stories of defectors, Demick's book is a gripping account of what life is like behind a repressive, totalitarian state, built upon the cult of personality where the citizens of North Korea live in a country that resembles 1957 not 2017.

There are so many unforgettable stories in this book, the one of Mi-Ran and Jun-Sang, read like a Shakespearean tragedy. As these two young teens carry on a secret romantic (and non-sexual relationship) violating societal and class norms, the reader understands the true personal loneliness that a totalitarian society exerts not on the individual, the inability to trust even those closest to them. As Jun-Sang's schooling leaves him far away from Mi-Ran, we understand the extent to which a famine consumes the country, killing even the healthiest, and causing citizens like Mi-Ran to consider the unthinkable, fleeing the country through China in order to make it to South Korea to survive the catastrophe unfolding before their eyes to the family and neighbors.

"Nothing to Envy" is a brilliant book in how deeply it humanizes the people of North Korea, pawns of a corrupt, maniacal family that has exerted absolute control over 20+million people for nothing more than power. Outside of the ruling family, everyone else is a dispensable pawn, only valuable in so far as they further the ends of Kim Il-sung and his heirs. Demick gives voice to the untold stories that represent the millions unfortunate to be born into a repressive totalitarian society, virtually all with little hope and no control on their ultimate destiny, most fortunate to have food to eat to live for another day. This book is just as important a read today given how little conditions have changed for North Koreans.

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Easy to read, compelling, novel style

ByChristianon March 17, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book is easy read yet does a great job of covering the subject of life in North Korea. The author, Barbara Demick, takes the real stories of six North Koreans, and weaves their histories together novel style.

She does an excellent job of showing the facts of day to day life in North Korea in the 1990s and early 2000s. She also recounts their journeys of defection and adjustment to life in South Korea.

Demick gives insight into the cult-like devotion some North Koreans had for Kim Il-Sung, and, to a lesser extent, his son and grandson. In a 1984-Orwellian style society, they had no choice but to follow the regime (or at least pretend). Neighbors would report the slightest behavioral deviations and there are a couple of accounts of people arrested for violations.

It's emotional at times, especially as main characters die (particularly from the famine). Demick conducted extensive interviews with the subjects, lived in South Korea, and traveled to North Korea. If you have any interest in understanding the culture and challenges of life in North Korea, this is a must read.

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Most recent customer reviews

Four Stars

Stories from real people, real experiences.

Published 14 hours ago by Ada

Five Stars

An extremely well-written book--especially pertinent at this moment in time.

Published 1 day ago by Elizabeth A. Birt

Four Stars

Truly illuminating of the cultural deprivations suffered by the population under the Kim regimes.

Published 1 day ago by randolph e. heubach

Learn about Life in North Korea

This is the first book I have read about North Korea, an isolated and walled off part of our World. The author followed several "escapees" and the reader could experience...Read more

Published 2 days ago by Chief TB

Four Stars

A good description of life in Nort Korea

Published 2 days ago by Bonnie Rothenberg

More Than Ever

I find myself thinking more and more about this book lately, with North Korea threatening to bomb Guam. So glad I read this a while back.Read more

Published 2 days ago by Laura

Well written, touching, page turner.

Illuminating

Published 2 days ago by Frederick Martello

This is an excellent look at what life is like under the totally ...

This is an excellent look at what life is like under the totally repressive Communist regime in North Korea.Read more

Published 4 days ago by Elizabeth A Fuhrmann

Book gets better as you go through it

Wasn't sure whether to give this 4 or 5 stars, but ultimately as the stories started developing more, the middle to end of the book snowball and it's easier to get through the...Read more

Published 5 days ago by Elaine Sugimoto-Jones

Four Stars

What a interesting look at modern day North Korea and the lives of the everyday people.

Published 6 days ago by Wendy

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