Nothing to Envy

I am currently reading Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick.  It has been a while since I last read a non-fiction book and I came across this in the Amazon bookstore.  I am about half way through the book and so far I am quite enjoying it.  It is very informative and have opened my eyes with what goes on on the other side of the DMZ.

I am well aware of the living standards of the people in the South but I was not aware of how restricted the people's lives are in the North.  With all the headlines North Korea is making these days, it was only natural for me to read more about it. 

The meat of the book is the experiences of six people the author interviewed who had lived in the North and had somehow managed to defect to the South.  I haven't gotten to the part where they left yet but now I am eager to find out.  So far, everything have been more horrible than I had imagined and it was made even more so by the famine during the 90s.  While I was finishing high school at the time, I was completely unaware of the food shortage they were experiencing.  It goes to show how much we have in abundance in North America.

I would fully recommend this book to anyone who is even remotely interested with what goes on inside the most secretive country in the world.