Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North KoreaNothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
Score Modern
What it's about
Journalist Barbara Demick spent years interviewing North Koreans who escaped, and here she follows six of them, all from the city of Chongjin, across fifteen years that included the death of Kim Il-sung and a famine that killed perhaps a million people. Among them are a young couple whose secret courtship lasted years, a doctor who watched her patients starve, and a factory worker who believed in the regime until the very end.
Why it's worth reading
It's the best book ever written about ordinary life in North Korea, because it focuses on people, not politics. It won the Baillie Gifford Prize and reads like a novel you can't believe is true.
You'll love it if you liked
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great MigrationGood to know
The famine chapters are very hard to read. It's around 330 pages and moves quickly.
By the numbers
- Readers98 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics88 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller27 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #9 of the 290 memoirs and biographies we rank
- #22 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #44 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story
More by Barbara Demick
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Quick answers
Is Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea worth reading?
Yes. It's the best book ever written about ordinary life in North Korea, because it focuses on people, not politics. It ranks #44 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 89.6 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea about?
Journalist Barbara Demick spent years interviewing North Koreans who escaped, and here she follows six of them, all from the city of Chongjin, across fifteen years that included the death of Kim Il-sung and a famine that killed perhaps a million people. Among them are a young couple whose secret courtship lasted years, a doctor who watched her patients starve, and a factory worker who believed in the regime until the very end.
How long does it take to read Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea?
About 8 hours (338 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea won?
Baillie Gifford Prize winner (2010).
What should I read after Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea?
If you liked it, try Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi, Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe or The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson.