I have been interested in North Korea for quite a while, and although I was afraid this book was going to be a downer, I took a chance and am I glad I did. This is my favorite non-fiction book I have read in a very long time. In the times I was not reading the book, I was talking about it to other people and thinking about it. I could not wait to "return to North Korea in my mind."
I am a sci-fi and fantasy buff, and the real North Korea described in this book is as incredible as anything in fiction. It is also a cautionary tale for well-meaning Western leftists. Ask North Koreans how that socialized medicine is working out for them. How about their government run utilities, housing and food programs? On the bright side, life in North Korea is very environmentally friendly.
I only can hope that Barbara Demick does another book of the stories of North Korean defectors. Maybe, just maybe, we'll get a defector from the elite of North Korea someday. I can't even begin to imagine the lives of their elite. The stories from the ordinary people are mind blowing.Get more detail about Nothing to Envy: North Korean Loves.
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