Barbara Demick

"Nothing to Envy" follows the lives of six North Koreans over 15 years--a chaotic period that saw the unchallenged rise to power of Kim Jong Il and the devastation of a famine that killed one-fifth of the population.

Ordinary Lives in North Korea

Nothing to Envy

hileahrious

Very well-written and full-circle. As it’s a collection of true stories, I wasn’t expecting it to flow so well and be so suspenseful. A must-read for North Korea nerds, but highly recommended to anyone interested in the North Korean regime from a local, human perspective (and not just the raving image of the Kim-family cult you see in the news every year).

Laura Mauler

Reading this book felt eerily similar to reading books about the Holocaust. Not in content, necessarily, (although there are overlaps), but in the emotions it brought out of me and the depth at which I felt them.

Absolutely fantastic book.

Jaden Nelson

A propaganda sign from North Korea “Kick out the Americans and unite the Fatherland!”
I haven't read much non-fiction, so I don't really know how this works, but I guess there is a SPOILER WARNING for this review, except I don't even know if this kind of book necessarily needs one. 


“It is axiomatic that one death is a tragedy, a thousand is a statistic. So it was for Mi-ran. What she didn't realize is that her indifference was an acquired survival skill. In order to get through the 1990s alive, one had to suppress any impulse to share food. To avoid going insane, one had to learn to stop caring.”

“But now she couldn’t deny what was staring her plainly in the face: dogs in China ate better than doctors in North Korea.”

LONG LIVE KIM IL-SUNG.
KIM JONG-IL, SUN OF THE 21ST CENTURY.
LET'S LIVE OUR OWN WAY.
WE WILL DO AS THE PARTY TELLS US.
WE HAVE NOTHING TO ENVY IN THE WORLD. -a propaganda sign often seen in North Korea
How do you rate a book like this? First of all, it seems hard for me to get my mind around rating real life events(aka non-fiction). I was moved and incredibly interested by this book, so I guess I'll go off of that. 
 Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea is a book about what the title says "ordinary lives in North Korea," but the events described in the book are anything but "ordinary." Demick informs us readers about what North Korea is really like through the lives of 6 (main) people. Before reading this, I knew North Korea was and is a very oppressed and struggling nation, but I had no idea just how much. 
 My copy of this book has mark after mark because the events described are unbelievable. It tells of the almost mind control Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il had the people of North Korea under. It tells of the decreasing necessities available to the North Korean people: the electricity, the wages, and eventually the food-things these people relied on from their Communist government. A major part of the book is detailing the food famine in the 1990's, but Demick doesn't just throw statistics at you or tell you "It was horrible, lots of people died." Instead, she achieves a much more personal and emotionally-impacting read by following peoples' lives who lived through this time. I am starting to sound repetitive because to be honest, I don't know how to explain my thoughts on this book without coming back to the same points, so I will just say that reading this book was a very humbling experience-hearing all of unthinkable things this country-and more importantly its people-had to (and sadly still have to) go though. Also, because she tells this information based on peoples' life events, the prideful, happy, and even romantic sides of North Korean lives are shown. I would highly encourage everyone to read this who is even mildly interested in learning more about North Korea because I found it a very compelling read that kept me entertained even when I wouldn't think I normally would be. I tested myself and I read this book at a slower pace than is usual for me: about 30ish pages every hour, while I normally read fantasy and fiction at around 60 pages an hour. That means that this is about the equivalent of a 600 ish page fantasy book....that I read in 3 days... This isn't to brag, it's to credit to Demick's page-turning narrative. As far as star ratings go, it is definitely one of my new favorites, but I can't quite tell if I really "feel that 5 stars." My views may change as time goes on, so I'll just say that it for sure deserves 4 stars in my book ;) and I am so glad that I took a chance and picked this up. DISCLAMER: 15 POST-IT NOTES WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS REVIEW

UPDATE: When I really think about it, I can't pick out any faults or problems I had with this book so I think I am gonna go with 5 stars because I want to show this all of the love I can:)

Mani Mohan

A brilliant book that I just couldn't keep down. Informative, gripping, and most of all, haunting. What a weird world we live in.

Wynter

An engaging and horrifying story of the plight of North Koreans. I loved that it was mainly about people, and not the bigger politics. There is a lot to be said about the character of the "beloved leader" who starves his people and threatens them with death. The increased defection to neighbouring countries, development of independent (and therefore illegal) private enterprises, spreading of information about real South Korea and "evil American bastards" are all signs that perhaps things will change soon. Here's hoping that the bratty Kim Jong-un will end up sitting all alone in a dilapidated state, while the Koreans join as one nation once again.

Gavin

Horrible portrait of a deluded and brutalised country. You’ve probably already imagined the political religion, the incompetence and manipulation of the cadres: here are some of the only first-person accounts. The dozen defectors she interviews agree on enough to lend some confidence. 

She repeats entire sentences verbatim at various parts of the book, and runs out of ways to reflect somberly on collective madness and individual caprice (fair enough). It’s hard to see a country in which 10% of the population die of state-caused starvation ever rising up. No

This was different from any book I’ve read before, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I used to have a very general, limited, and dismal view of all life in North Korea; this book allowed me to understand their stories and the people as unique individuals. The way this book is written is great because it’s informative, narrative, and yet is always telling you a story that you can actually picture clearly in your head. I learned so much about their culture, their struggle, and their incredible resilience. Each story of the individuals in the book was incredible and moving.

Grace Mekkes

An incredible read. The amount of research and fieldwork that went into this is truly amazing.

I always knew that things were bad in North Korea but direct information about the 90s was quite eye-opening. If you have any interest about North Korea at all this is a must-read.

Kyle Sawatsky

An incredible read. The amount of research and fieldwork that went into this is truly amazing.

I always knew that things were bad in North Korea but direct information about the 90s was quite eye-opening. If you have any interest about North Korea at all this is a must-read.

Nothing to Envy: Real Lives in North Korea North Korea is Orwell ́s 1984 made reality: it is the only country in the world not connected to the internet; Gone with the Wind is a dangerous, banned book; during political rallies, spies study your expression to check your sincerity. After the death of the country ́s great leader Kim Il Sung in 1994, famine descended: people stumbled over dead bodies in the street and ate tree bark to survive. Nothing to Envy weaves together the stories of adversity and resilience of six residents of Chongin, North Korea ́s third largest city. From extensive interviews and with tenacious investigative work, Barbara Demick has recreated the concerns, culture and lifestyles of North Korean citizens in a gripping narrative, and vividly reconstructed the inner workings of this extraordinary and secretive country.

Real Lives in North Korea

Alex grey

Nothing to envy- ordinary lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

Just finished the book
This has been a long amazing journey with the lives of North Koreans. It was not only some stories from North Korea, but more of a long historical journey from the Korean war till 2009. It went deep into people’s lives, the political, sociological, and economic situations, through the war, the stable-ish life, the starvation, till the defection and afterwards; through very personal stories.
My favorite part was the description of moments of realization, and how each person had their own unique story with their unique way to actually realize how bad North Korea was. It was an emotional roller coaster. Great book and amazing author. Totally love it and recommend it. 10/10

Ri Liu

alina s

well written and immediately captivating. I’m very skeptical about some of the accounts/statistics since she seems so pro westernization and South Korea but overall an incredibly educational and fascinating read

Rachel Kwon

I read this book on the subway this week. I cried, laughed, furrowed my brow, etc. The plight of the North Korean people is one of the greatest human rights injustices in the world, but when poverty and oppression happen at such a large scale, it's easy to forget the individual lives and stories, and Demick brings it back to the micro level.

Martin Lukanov

This is the third book about North Korea I read in the last two weeks or so and is most probably the best written and most engaging one I’ve read on the subject in a long time. 

Rather than the whole of North Korea, the book centers only on the lives of North Korean defectors who lived around Chongjin, an industrial city in the northeastern part of the country. I guess there are a few reasons why she chose to concentrate on this town. One of them is the fact that it was initially one of the wealthiest and most developed parts of the country but as later hit especially hard during the famine decade. Moreover, the city’s location seems to be an essential factor. The city is located relatively close to both China and Russia, which makes it a major hub both for international trade, legal and illegal and for leaving the Hermit Kingdom.
The history of the region, and to an extension of North Korea as a whole, is given through the different life stories of North Korean defectors interviewed by the writer in the span of seven years.

What makes the book especially fascinating, apart from being thoroughly researched and amazingly written, is the fact that all of the people in the book seem like entirely different and unique individuals, not like a bunch of automatons, as some other books represent North Korean citizens. Even more, not all of the characters are fervent believers in the North Korean brand of communism, some of them even hate it. 

If I have a gripe with the book, it is that the author says very little about the life of the defectors in South Korea. I would’ve liked to see how they coped with the vastly different life in South Korea, did they try to go back to North Korea, did they become parts of North Korean groups and other similar things. 

The book is written very well, it sometimes even feels very similar to a novel. All of the stories are very interesting and engaging, and make you feel with them and root for them and their wellbeing. It is a great book and one I would wholeheartedly suggest to anyone who wants an engaging and easy to read introduction to North Korea.

Melody Izard

North Korea is trapped in some sticky bug catching time zone and propaganda booms forth all day if the electricity is working. Some people decide that the information they are getting is all lies and they are tired of being hungry and work out a complicated, dangerous plan to escape only to find out they were happier starving in their homeland. Life is unexplainable.

Dave Konopka

Not the most uplifting material but this book does an impressive job telling personal stories from a world of isolation.

Omar Fernandez

Amazing, eye opening book about North Korea as told by defectors.

Jade Flynn

"It was the simple and kindhearted people who did what they were told-- they were the first to die.” 

Harrowing. Mrs. Song's story particularly resonated with me. Admirable readability.

Yoomi

I had read an excerpt in The Paris Review earlier this year and couldn't get it out of my head. And once I started reading the book, I couldn't stop. It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion - horrific. But at the same time, there is always hope that things have to change, the country can't possibly continue under this regime. At least that is what I hope. The individual stories are heartbreaking but compelling and it lingers long after I read the last page. Barbara Demick does a wonderful job of writing objectively yet compassionately.

Magdalene Lim

"A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic."

When I read life stories such as these, it comes to a point where it feels like a story because it's difficult to empathize with something that only exists as a story for a large part of the world. Yet, Demick presents these biographies in such a personable and relatable manner that even someone who dislikes history (yes, me)enjoyed this read. 

This book is the result of years of research, relationship building and a lot of hard work, I would imagine. Thank you Demick for this refreshingly different read, a peek into the lives of people I would probably never have the chance to see.

Jeni Enjaian

I found myself fascinated by this book from the outset. I love telling history from personal stories, gathering evidence, and telling difficult stories. After a while though, it felt drawn out and without direction. I knew it had direction though but the ultimate culmination took too long, hence the three stars rather than four.
That being said, I do still recommend this book. People need to know these stories.

Lloyd Dalton

I've read dozens of articles about the DPRK. None of the descriptions and explanations made any fundamental sense. This book makes actual, terrible sense.

Nico J

Stunning, and I'm left with a broken heart. The lives of these six people that Barbara Demick follows are forever altered and create rippling effects to the generations thereafter, which holds a lot of promise as well as danger considering the tight-knit tendencies of many Asian cultures. It is written carrying the pain and hope of the escapees, the survivors, and most noticeably, the betrayed - those who believed in their country and government for all it was worth, only to be strung along and abused, forced to learn a grim truth. I don't have a lot of words, but I will say I am extremely glad I bought this book.

Adam

With the Olympics in South Korea this year, and us visiting southeast Asia, I wanted to learn more about the history of North Korea and it's people. I've heard the horror stories in the news over the last decade of labor camps, extreme hunger and the systematic approach to lying to the people, but this book goes deeper than that - by focusing on actual stories from North Korean defectors.

Some of the stories they tell are warm, like when talking about family and young love. Most are haunting, talking about the physical effects of extreme hunger or carts of corpses being removed from trains that died of hunger the previous night.

The escape process and the integration back into South Korean life is not easy either, and both have their own drawbacks which are explored in this book.

Nothing to Envy Ordinary Lives in North Korea

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