Mark Twain wrote: An ecstasy is a thing that will not go into words; it feels like music, and one cannot tell about music so that another person can get the feeling of it.
Category: Memoir
Average Rating: 3.0
Eunsun Kim was born in North Korea, one of the most secretive and oppressive countries in the modern world. As a child, Eunsun loved her country...despite her school field trips to public executions, daily self-criticism sessions, and the increasing gnaw of hunger as the countrywide famine escalated. By the time she was 11 years old, Eunsun's father and grandparents had died of starvation, and Eunsun too was in danger of starving. Finally her mother decided to escape North Korea with Eunsun and her sister, not knowing that they were embarking on a journey that would take them nine long years to complete. Told with grace and courage, her memoir is a riveting expose of North Korea's totalitarian regime and, ultimately, a testament to the strength and resilience of the human spirit.
Rating: 3
This book isn't an example of brilliant writing, but that may be due in part to its translation and to a lack of educational opportunities of the author. Additionally, the narration by Emily Woo Zeller isn't the most competent. But the story is very interesting and quite compelling. It's an enlightening memoir.
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