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  • 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 (89 ratings)

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Nothing to Envy

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

Winner of the Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction 2010.

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 Audible

Critic Reviews

"Excuse me, but I must insist you listen to this book. This is a mandatory one. It's so well written; beautiful and terribly sad. Demick interviews North Koreans who have escaped and weaves together a narrative that's astonishing. It's the best audiobook I've listened to in the last year." (The Guardian)

What listeners say about Nothing to Envy

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Narrator is robotic

I cannot attest to the content of this audiobook because I could not handle the narrator. She is so robotic that I could not listen to more than 10 mins. Will be buying on kindle instead.

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Excellent book to learn about North Korea

This is not a book of hope. There is nothing about solutions to the terrible, unimaginable suffering that people in North Korea experience thanks the regime. It is of the personal stories of people who defected. This book was hard to listen to at times, listening to the atrocities faced by people in North Korea. The excerpt about the public execution for a minor crime of stealing metals during times of famine, to buy food, was particularly hard.

My only criticism is when the author stated that most defectors regret leaving North Korea. The author does not explain why she says this or the reasons. If this were true surely it would most likely be because of survivor's guilt. Leaving family behind in a country like North Korea is unimaginable. I would have liked to hear more about the lives of the defectors adjusting to life outside of North Korea.

I hope more people would read book like these.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A real eye opener

Living in Australia it’s hard to believe that people’s basic human rights didn’t exist for these people, and not so long ago. Great read.

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Eye opener!

Gripping. I knew things were tough in North Korea but the extent is horrifying. How can this be in the 21st century?
A case of absolute power corrupts absolutely. As frightening as the Holocaust, but less well known. Barbara Demick’s account is very well researched partly from first hand knowledge. The narration is a little stiff but suits the story.

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Eye Opening Story

loved this book so so much. Hard to believe it happened in my lifetime.

The narrators vpice was at times a bit monotone but I think it suited the harsh reality of the story

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Devastatingly amazing

Barbara does an amazing job at opening our eyes to the life of North Koreans. Makes me feel so helpless.
I couldn’t wait to keep listening each time I had to stop.

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Wonderful insight

Great story about the individual plight of several North Korean Citizens from the hardships felt under a communist regime to the far off, democratic living as offered by South Korea. Although it is more than just that, it gives a good insight into the political, socio, and economical (or lack thereof) nature of a country so indoctrinated with the hatred of anything, or anyone that is not North Korean. A book well worth listening to.

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