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Barbara Demick

Nothing to Envy

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WINNER OF THE BBC SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2010A spectacularly revealing and harrowing portrait of ordinary lives in the world's least ordinary country, North KoreaNorth 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, and Nothing to Envy — winner of the 2010 BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction — 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.
This book is currently unavailable
440 printed pages
Publication year
2010
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Impressions

  • Jailin Camposshared an impression8 months ago
    👍Worth reading
    💡Learnt A Lot

    Corea del Norte desde la perspectiva de sus detractores... La autora mezcla fuentes secundarias con las historias de decenas de entrevistados para darle un soporte histórico y veracidad al libro.
    Cada historia retrata una prisión a cielo abierto o no, porque varios de ellos fueron presos en campos de trabajo, aunque la diferencia entre trabajar para una empresa estatal o un campo de trabajo parece difusa.
    El libro cuenta la vida entera de estas personas, cómo fue la escuela, el amor, el matrimonio, la universidad, la prisión, los medios de transporte, el ocio... Pero no acaba en el momento de la emigración, los acompañamos por los diferentes caminos de escape hasta llegar a establecerse en una sociedad totalmente diferente, en donde surgen sentimientos encontrados, la soledad, la discriminación, la necesidad de empezar de cero.
    Un trabajo impecable. RECOMIENDO.

  • b2453840522shared an impression8 years ago
    🎯Worthwhile

    Amazon!!

  • Anna Chasovikovashared an impression2 years ago
    👍Worth reading
    💡Learnt A Lot

Quotes

  • Jailin Camposhas quoted8 months ago
    Like other occasional visitors to Pyongyang, I am reluctant to make pronouncements about the state of the nation based on my observations because the government goes to such extraordinary lengths to choreograph what foreigners see of their country.
  • Jailin Camposhas quoted8 months ago
    Hairdressers were all state employees who worked for an agency called the Convenience Bureau. It was also responsible for bicycle and shoe repairmen
  • Jailin Camposhas quoted8 months ago
    Visitors to Pyongyang in the 1990s reported that the stores sometimes put plastic fruit and vegetables on display for foreign window-shoppers.

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