Nothing to Envy

"Nothing to Envy" weaves together the stories of adversity and resilience of six residents of Chongin, North Korea's third largest city. Two lovers, who dated secretly for a decade, feared to criticise the regime to each other. A loyal factory worker watched her husband and son die of starvation before escaping the country. In telling the stories of Chongin's residents. she has recreated the lifestyles of North Korean citizens from their interests and concerns to their culture.

WINNER OF THE SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION

A spectacular, definitive portrait of ordinary life within one of the world's most repressive states - North Korea.

'A most perceptive and eye-opening account of everyday life in North Korea' Jung Chang

North Korea is Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four made reality: it is the only country in the world not connected to the internet; where Gone with the Wind is a dangerous, banned book; and where during political rallies, spies study your expression to check your sincerity.

Nothing to Envy weaves together the stories of adversity and resilience of six residents of Chongin, North Korea's third-largest city. From extensive interviews and with tenacious investigative work, Barbara Demick has recreated the concerns, culture and lifestyles of North Korean citizens in a gripping narrative, and vividly reconstructed the inner workings of this extraordinary and secretive country.

Includes an updated afterword by the author.

'Impossible to put down... Helps restore humanity to some of the world's most oppressed people' Observer