• Nothing to Envy

  • Ordinary Lives in North Korea
  • By: Barbara Demick
  • Narrated by: Karen White
  • Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (4,062 ratings)

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Nothing to Envy  By  cover art

Nothing to Envy

By: Barbara Demick
Narrated by: Karen White
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Publisher's summary

Barbara Demick's Nothing to Envy follows the lives of six North Koreans over 15 years - a chaotic period that saw the death of Kim Il-sung and the unchallenged rise to power of his son, Kim Jong-il, and the devastation of a far-ranging famine that killed one-fifth of the population.

Taking us into a landscape never before seen, Demick brings to life what it means to be an average Korean citizen, living under the most repressive totalitarian regime today - an Orwellian world in which radio and television dials are welded to the one government station, a country that is by choice not connected to the Internet, a society in which outward displays of affection are punished, and a police state that rewards informants and where an offhanded remark can send a citizen to the gulag for life. Demick's subjects - a middle-aged party loyalist and her rebellious daughter, an idealistic female doctor, an orphan, and two young lovers - all hail from the same provincial city in the farthest-flung northern reaches of the country. One by one, we witness the moments of revelation, when each realizes that they have been betrayed by the Fatherland and that their suffering is not a global condition but is uniquely theirs.

Nothing to Envy is the first book about North Korea to go deep inside the country, beyond the reach of government censors, and penetrate the mind-set of the average citizen. It is a groundbreaking and essential addition to the literature of totalitarianism.

©2010 Barbara Demick (P)2009 Tantor
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

"A fascinating and deeply personal look at the lives of six defectors from the repressive totalitarian regime of the Republic of North Korea." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Nothing to Envy

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Beautiful story about catastrophic suffering

The characters in this book carried a difficult narrative. The reader never lost hope because the characters never did. Excellent writing.

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A grim yet beautiful portrait of the DPRK

I’m endlessly fascinated by the DPRK and this book has stoked that fascination to new heights. If you share my fascination, give this book a listen.

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Eye Opening Perspective

Humbling and depressing perspective into the personal, cultural & economic impacts of North Korean social authoritarianism.

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Wow

This book is about the perseverance of the human spirit of the women who’s stories are told

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Phenomenal.

Demick's deep dive into the lives of ordinary citizens of North Korea is a wake up call to all. The modern day hermit kingdom continues to strike down its own citizens that refuse to uphold the false and failing narrative of a "Thriving and United Socialist state". While Demick's words are spoken, they paint a picture frozen in time of the lives that were led by the individuals she speaks of giving us a clear and vivid insight of what life was like for different walks of life. I'd recommend to anyone who seeks inside information on the Hermit Kingdom. Brilliant read/listen!

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Wonderful

This was an excellent book with quite a bit of insight on North Korean life. The stories of the people interviewed were very interesting and I always yearned to learn more.

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Really wanted to listen to this, but….

I can’t tell you if this is good or not because I couldn’t get past the very noticeable deep breaths taken by the narrator. I tried multiple times but kept getting lost in the story because I would be so jarred by her breaths. If things like that bother you, then you may just want to buy the actual book.

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Great story

Simply put this was a great book. The stories of the people are compelling. The narrator was pleasant to listen to. And learning about how frickin’ miserable it is in North Korea was as surprising as it was not. You know it’s gonna be bad but you just don’t really know.

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Hardships & perseverance of ppl in N. Korea

Excellent Demick profiles the lives of people who escape N. Korea. The book describes the daily lives of ordinary people & how they begin to question the veracity of what Dear Leader told them about the outside world. Demick introduces the reader to the mothers & fathers, siblings and loves lost of the people that escape. The book captures the complexity of what it really means to leave one's homeland behind, no matter how brutal the homeland is. It is unbelievable how heavy their hardships were, yet they had no idea. For instance, medical doctors had to grow their own cotton in order for them to make their own bandages. In the 1980s. And those were the good years. They thought that was how the rest of the world operated but they had it better.

Propaganda & censorship are powerful tools when authoritarians create alternate facts in order to manipulate & control the masses. Highly recommend.

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Outstanding

An incredible expose an insular culture, like a narrative nonfiction version of 1984. So grateful to the author for writing it.

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