Award-winning novelist Suki Kim’s haunting memoir of teaching English to the sons of North Korea’s elite during the last six months of Kim Jong Il’s reign—a moving and incalculably rare glimpse of life in the world’s most unknowable country, and at the privileged young men she calls “soldiers and slaves.”
–Unprecedented access.
–Author has deep ties to Korea.
–Reads like a dystopian novel!
–Beautifully written!
“[An] extraordinary and troubling portrait of life under severe repression…[Kim’s] account is both perplexing and deeply stirring.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“A rare and nuanced look at North Korean culture, and an uncommon addition to the ’inspirational-teacher’ genre.”
—Booklist, starred review
“A touching portrayal of the student experience in North Korea, which provides readers with a rare glimpse of life in this enigmatic country…Well-written and thoroughly captivating.”
—Library Journal, starred review
“[A] most enlightening tale about the North Korean darkness…Directs the lights of emotion and intelligence on a country where ignorance is far from bliss.”
—Kirkus Reviews