Nothing to Envy — Ordinary Lives in North Korea
by Barbara Demick
My copy is a 316-page paperback published in 2010 in the United States by Spiegal & Grau.
by Barbara Demick
My copy is a 316-page paperback published in 2010 in the United States by Spiegal & Grau.
But now she couldn’t deny what was staring her plainly in the face: dogs in China ate better than doctors in North Korea.
— Barbara Demick
About 5 years ago, I read an inspiring blog post by Ann Morgan, a UK-based author (and a TED Speaker), who dedicated an entire year just reading books from all over the world. At that time of my life, after being distant from books (college ruined my passion for reading), this was the kind of revelation I needed to get over my reading rut. I was ready to make a comeback.
Unknowingly, I had already started this journey years before that. I happened upon an unconventional non-fiction book, written by LA Times journalist Barbara Demick. Her book is based on interviews she conducted with North Korean refugees over fifteen years.
If you feel like your life is riddled with unfairness (or, some would say, first-world problems?), grab this book and sink yourself in. Barbara's storytelling of six ordinary North Koreans in this book is so compelling that you'll quickly learn to appreciate the simple freedom that you have in your country. It's unfathomable that even in this 21st century, the citizens of an entire nation can still exist in such a dejected state.
