Nothing to Envy discussion

How did you feel after you read this book?

I felt like it was a huge world that opened up. I didn't know what it feels like to live in a dictatorship regime, or how bad someone's life could be and how in spite of that somehow they happened to have such nobility in them. I only read the first chapter and the pitiable condition of that father made me not want to read any further. Nevertheless it was a beautiful work of art - so smoothly going over different topics and so gripping.

What did you feel when you read this book?

I think you need to read the rest of the book! What is particularly interesting to me is the straw that broke the camel's back for each of the prime interviewees - for example, for one person it was seeing that someone on a South Korean television broadcast had a ballpoint pen, to internalize that things were much worse in the north than the leaders claimed. This book is not that long, and deserves a full read.

Ya I do want to read further but at the same time it feels painful to read about all this. A person's life can be so worthless to be able to get manipulated to such a large extent by things beyond his control. It's very unfair.

Maybe you're not at a place in real life where you should read this book, but when you can, it is very worthwhile. I felt, while people were manipulated, they also had their own hopes which came through. In America, communism, socialism, etc., are looked on so horrifically. Imho, being human allows us to realize there is beauty in many things that we can control while being controlled.

Anita wrote: "Maybe you're not at a place in real life where you should read this book, but when you can, it is very worthwhile. I felt, while people were manipulated, they also had their own hopes which came t..."

Yeps.. I guess one can keep trying to focus on the things that they can control. Maybe that's where one feels better about one's life. Thanks for pointing this out. :)