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)

I wanted more

This book was as eye-opening as it was shocking. As depressing as it was inspring. I have lived in Asia for 11 years and traveled throughout much of it, including South Korea. I thought I knew a lot. I realize now I knew nothing of North Korea. Good non-fiction is told as fiction, and Demick does an excellent job of weaving facts about North Korea into the lives of several people who lived there through the post-industrial decline and famine of the 90's. I actually didn't want this book to end and when it did I searched for more books on North Korea. Alas there are few. Nothing to Envy makes a huge contribution to understanding that strange and closed place.

Interesting stories, could have been shorter

Amazing book with insightful stories to tell the real life of North Korean people
The part about assimilating to South Korea was also interesting and necessary for the overall story. It got a little boring around chapter 12 (we already know the situation in there and giving more examples didn't really help) but got interesting again when she started to talk about people fleeing and their life in free world.

wow

loved it. A great true tale of normal North Korean citizens. Loved it loved it loved it.

Unusual and Weird

I enjoyed this book because I learned so many new things on many levels. I like books written by investigative journalists.

Well written and tragic

Makes your heart break for those in North Korea and proves just how much socialism, communism and fascism negatively impact the human psyche and physical well-being. Just like during the Holocaust the question is raised “why don’t people DO something?”

amazing that this exists in this day and age.

This is a very fascinating read about a totalitarian familial regime that has done everything in its power to keep its subjects as ignorant as humanly possible.

It is a great eye opener into all of the help this world still needs.

Most Enlightening

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would--and have--recommend this book to a friend. It is a seldom-glimpsed insight into life in North Korea, important especially since the recent death of Kim Jong-il. I know that now, for example, that the North Koreans are in a period of forced mourning where everyone has to take a turn going to the statue of Kim Jong-il in their city center and wailing for several hours, whether or not they are sad. If they don't show up, consequences are dire.

It is unbelieveable what those people have endured. My heart aches for them. I wonder what the future holds in store for them under Kim Jong-un.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the personal stories, the successes and failures, trials and tribulations

What does Karen White bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Pronunciation.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Getting to China or South Korea was not a happy ending, it was a new beginning. Not easy to adjust. This was told wonderfully by the author.

Wow

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

fascinating!

amazing insights into lives of real people in North Korea. Different than any other book I've read on this country

Amazing Insight

In such a hermetic regime as North Korea, it is nearly impossible to give a sense of what its citizens go through every day. In one sense I was just curious as to what things were like in the DPRK, and didn't care for the personal stories as much at first. But it makes the realization that their country is a bankrupt dictatorship by these characters even more powerful at the end. I don't think you would understand the forces keeping the North Koreans under tabs had you not read this story. It's a little bit like seeing a primitive culture discover technology in a first world nation. However, what makes this even more amazing is that these two peoples are from the same nation. The narrator is a good reader, but an annoying tick happens when she breathes in before each new sentence. You will soon forget about this phenomenon, but it's good to at least be aware of it.