Review - 'Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea' by Barbara Demick

Astonishing and emotionally gripping, Nothing to Envy peels back the curtain and offers that rare glimpse into what life is really like in North Korea.

Reading this, I'm struck by how similar their lives are to ours and also how utterly different it is. They share the same ambitions for a fulfilling life, the same yearning for love and belonging, the same hope of better opportunities for their children. Yet, their lives are nothing like ours.

Not only do they lack any type of personal choice or freedom, but they also have to endure years of famine. Going in, I never really thought about what it means to go through a famine of this severity and magnitude. Every day, all day, their entire time and energy are spent going far into the woods to scrounge for grass and bark and rotten fruit, as all possible edible items nearby have already been eaten.

When situations get so hopeless and people become desperate, they start hardening their hearts against each other. That drive to survive extinguishes everything else, and it's awful to see the transition take place. The most innocent and trusting would often die of famine first because they don't want to steal or go behind the government's back to make a little extra money to trade for food. It makes me wonder what I would do if I had nothing to eat for days or weeks, let alone for years, if I wouldn't be forced to go against my moral code just to have a bite of food.

This book follows the lives of six North Korean defectors, and Demick really makes their stories and perspectives come alive. She shows how complex these people are, even in the face of total calamity. They retain their hope and dignity, and against all odds, eventually escape.

There is no easy solution for them that would solve all their problems. And there is no easy solution for North Korea either. Even if the regime is to eventually collapse, what will happen to all the people there? Assimilation will be a long and arduous process when they have spent a lifetime indoctrinated in a totalitarian regime.

This is one of those books that makes me think and also makes me so thankful for the life I have. By some random luck, I managed to get this life. But I could've easily have been born somewhere else, and maybe now, instead of having the opportunity to read books and share my thoughts, I'd be spending all day walking and scrounging for tree bark to eat. It's a sobering thought indeed.

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!