Nothing to Envy

Ordinary Lives in North Korea

By: Barbara Demick

Narrated by: Karen White

Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins

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

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)

Makes you thankful for all you have!

Any additional comments?

This book is amazing - holds your interest throughout - I found myself bringing it up to talk to others about almost everyday.

Journalistic tour de force

A well-reported and well-told review of the horrors of North Korea. I cried for the characters and their suffering. How can such evil (the actions of the regime) persist in our world? This important account bears witness.

Great details, very well researched

This author, Barbara Demick, did a great job getting a lot of good examples and personal details for the contents of the story. it makes me want to read more books written by her because I feel like I'm getting a very thorough picture of life elsewhere that is not commonly known where I live in the US.

Bleak, Fascinating, Heartbreaking

This story of the lives of several ordinary North Korean citizens, put together from interviews over a period of several years with defectors who made it to South Korea, gives a grim and fascinating look at what it's really like inside this isolated, almost hermetically-sealed dictatorship. Although much of it is what you'd expect from the little we can see from outside -- the cult of personality around the "Dear Leader," the bankrupt economy that pumps money into nuclear weapons and the military while the citizens starve -- you really cannot appreciate just how impoverished the people of North Korea are until you read these stories. Particularly heartbreaking is the story of the famine that killed millions in the 1990s. Every person interviewed for this book was literally watching friends and family drop dead of starvation all around them, while the government continued denying a problem and forbidding them even to grow gardens. The book covers the time period up until late 2009, when Kim Jong Il is still in power, could easily live for decades yet, and there is no telling just how much longer this regime can continue. For North Koreans, the future seems bleak no matter what.

A little tough at first...

I am a North Korean novice, so it took me a few hours of listening before I caught up to the terms and places. The narrator is a little dull, but once you get into the characters she fades away. The actual story itself has me obsessed with this country, because the stories are so remarkable. Download it, and get through the first couple of hours and you wont be sorry.

1984 in North Korea

Poor weather, inept economic management and the loss of aid and trade after the collapse of the Soviet bloc led to a famine that killed many North Koreans in the mid-1990s. Since then, illegal markets have sprouted to supplement, or sometimes replace, the state???s failed ration system.
The sins of the father ( Kim II-Sung ) were the sins of his son ( Kim Jong II ) for the sins not aid famine children.

Fascinating yet Chilling

This was a well written book depicting the lives of average North Koreans. These people have truly led incredible yet horrific lives. The North Korean regime is evil on a level that's hardly conceivable to the average North American. I enjoyed this listen very much and agree whole heartedly with the title. I wish with all my heart that better things are to come and soon to the North Korean people.

accurate detailed loves of North Koreans

I was looking for a book that would give me a realistic perspective of the "hermit kingdom" and this book was perfect at capturing it. its difficult to try to understand north korea through statistics or the news due to how much is truly unknown about the country from the outside. This book was composed of interviews with deserters, which is the only true way to get a realistic understanding of such a closed country.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in understanding North Korea.

Most valuable lessons:
1. The people are truly starving worse than most African Countries.

2. The people know their government is full of it, but they just have to keep going along with it so they don't get sent to hard labor camps.

3. Their citizens are just people. just like everyone else. They are trying to take care of their families and survive.

4. Capitalism can't be stopped, their government failing at providing food for their citizens, gave birth to a black market just like in all other communist countries. The black market is the start of capitalism and proved to feed the people better than communism.

Great book, horrible narrator

I am halfway through this book, and would love to finish it quickly, but I am constantly distracted by the breaths of the reader. I am not a professional speaker, but I genuinely believe that I could do a better job than this. Her voice is pleasant but the deep breath then she text in the middle of every sentence is driving me insane.

Eye-opening. Magnificent!

Any additional comments?

It is estimated that up to 10 percent of North Korea's population starved to death in the 90s. All because of a stubborn power-hungry regime that could not admit defeat.
Barbara Demick depicts the lives of several young North Korean defectors after they have made their escape to the South via China. The audiobook grips you with their seemingly surreal portrayals.. and refuses to let go. The poverty, desperation, and cultural blindness of the last pure communist holdout is difficult for any of us to understand.. and even harder to accept as it could so easily have been avoided.
A great listen that is equal parts education and enthralling entertainment.