Showing results by author "Barbara Demick" in All Categories

Barbara Demick's Nothing to Envy follows the lives of six North Koreans over fifteen 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.

A gripping portrait of modern Tibet told through the lives of its people, from the best-selling author of Nothing to Envy.

On a warm day in September 2000, a twenty-eight-year-old woman named Zanhua gave birth to twin girls in a small hut nestled in bamboo behind her brother's rural home in China's Hunan province. The twins, Fangfang and Shuangjie, were welcome additions to her young family but also not her first children. Hidden in the hut, they were born under the shadow of China's notorious one-child policy. Fearing the ire of family planning officials, Zanhua and her husband decided to leave one twin in the care of relatives, hoping each toddler on their own might stay under the radar.

Når aftenen saenker sig over Nordkorea, bliver der mørkt. Helt mørkt. Det blev lykken for 12-årige Mi-ran og 15-årige Jun-sang, der aften efter aften sneg sig til staevnemøder i ly af mørket. Efter tre år tog de hinanden i hånden. Efter ni år kyssede de hinanden. Så flygtede Mi-ran med sin familie til Kina - uden et ord til Jun-sang. For hvem kan man stole på?