Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea

ordinary lives in North Korea

by Barbara Demick

Hardcover, 326 pages

English language

Published Sept. 18, 2009 by Spiegel & Grau.

ISBN:: 978-0-385-52390-5

(20 reviews)

A remarkable view into North Korea, as seen through the lives of six ordinary citizens Nothing to Envy follows the lives of six North Koreans over fifteen years--a chaotic period that saw the death of Kim Il-sung, 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 most of us have never before seen, award-winning journalist Barbara Demick brings to life what it means to be living under the most repressive totalitarian regime today--an Orwellian world that is by choice not connected to the Internet, in which radio and television dials are welded to the one government station, and where displays of affection are punished; a police state where informants are rewarded and where an offhand remark can send a person to the gulag for life. Demick takes us deep inside the country, beyond the reach of government censors. Through meticulous and sensitive reporting, we see her six subjects--average North Korean citizens--fall in love, raise families, nurture ambitions, and struggle for survival. One by one, we experience the moments when they realize that their government has betrayed them. Nothing to Envy is a groundbreaking addition to the literature of totalitarianism and an eye-opening look at a closed world that is of increasing global importance. From the Hardcover edition.

2 editions

James Cridland's reading reviewed Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

Review of 'Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I've read a fair amount of books about North Korea, but this one is by far the most powerful and detailed book about normal life in the country. It's a very detailed and impressive book, following a number of ordinary North Koreans, and doesn't hold back on the positivity of the regime there as well as its faults and concerns. Most certainly the most interesting book I've read, and done in such a matter-of-fact, non-exaggerated way, it's hard to accuse it of being propaganda: indeed, the fact checking appears to be very well done. A difficult book in places, but worthwhile reading.

Molly Foust reviewed Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

Review of 'Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I loved this book. She narrates the stories of several North Korean defectors. It is a North Korean version of Behind the Beautiful Forevers, and the stories are compelling, tragic, fascinating. She interweaves the political and the personal perfectly. A doctor who leaves to find her father's family, a party member who 'accidently' defects, a young man with nowhere else to go, and a teacher who watches her Kindergarden class slowly starve and die over the years of famine... This book will stay with me for a while.

gimley reviewed Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

Review of 'Nothing to envy' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I normally run away from books with too much suffering, and any amount at all is potentially too much. This book was not really about suffering, though. It's about trying to be a human in a culture of lies, deprivation and oppression, only you don't know that's what's going on because you're told your life is better than those of anyone else in the world, and are being kept safe from that outside world by your wonderful leader who provides for you. Only he hasn't been providing much lately. There's not enough to eat, for example.

Like growing up in a dysfunctional family, it's still the only family you have. Most people accept the official story. If you don't, you could be sent to a labor camp as a traitor. Besides, everyone around you appears to believe it.

Among defectors, many, perhaps most, want to return to North Korea. They …

GG reviewed Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

Review of 'Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Fascinating and enlightening. I learned a lot about day-to-day life in North Korea, and the personal stories made it difficult to put down. With Kim Jong-Il's death, the book is particularly relevant today. Highly recommended.