In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom
Yeonmi Park
Born and raised in North Korea, Yeonmi was brainwashed to believe the Benevolent Dictator Family could read her mind and that poverty was normal. As a woman, she needed to escape North Korea in order to survive, which included passing through China as a human slave and a number of other atrocities.
Some lines were truly funny, and required sharing with my partner, my workmates, the wider world! But others were thought-provoking and hard to take in. It reminded me in some way of Max – dictators being able to brainwash people into believing anything, including that they are immortal and that they can see inside sinners’ heads. This is a wholly true story though, and that makes it both harder and easier to accept that some people actually are evil.
I am not surprised about the human trafficking aspect, and that Park wanted to hide it from others even as she was being the poster child of successful escape. It’s something that creates shame, even if it is not the woman’s fault. Human trafficking is still slavery, and it’s something that has been around for too long before it started. The Purveyor was my first foray into this, and In Order to Live won’t be my last.
I’ve been enjoying non-fiction biographies/autobiographies quite a lot lately. I had just read a fantastic book before this one, and I couldn’t think about jumping into another fantasy book. This hit the spot for something a bit different to refresh me. I couldn’t put it down.
There’s not much I can really say here, it is such a tiny little volume. I snaffled it up in around a half-hour. The action is fast-moving, and tries to keep your attention that way. I did drift off at points, but I think that’s just me.
There’s little bit of swapping between perspectives when they are all fighting in the Dream, which is not highlighted by different chapter breaks. This still works though because it feels like you distinctly stepped between each character in different places.
This novel had some fantastic laugh out loud parts that I couldn’t help sharing with my partner. And then she laughed as well. I really enjoyed it for those moments, and the language twists and the sheer absurdity of the fights that take place.
This novel was slow. Very, very slow. The first half of the novel happened, and nothing had happened. The princess they set out to see isn’t all that exciting. I thought she might be in peril! And additionally, 2/3 explorers already knew who she was.
The synopsis might not set you on fire, but I’d advise jumping right in anyway. The front cover might make you feel like it’s just for cutsie little kiddies, but really it isn’t. There are real issues being explored, it’s just that the backdrop is of fantastic dragons!
Max’s unique mature mindset makes it possible for the author to expose monstrosities in a matter-of-fact manner that nonetheless touch the reader and leaves them thinking about humans in general. Sometimes it felt like there was too much to absorb.
Normally I couldn’t tell you the names of half the characters, but the advantage of this novel being pretty much from Monica’s perspective (which is limited to dealing with people as she can’t really go out very much) meant that I got a good solid grasp of them in my mind. When the perspective changes up, you still don’t know the whole story or a truth.
If you are squeamish, this isn’t the novel for you. Apart from the part about eyeballs, which is my personal phobia and that I skipped over, I can say the horror was visceral.
Unbelievable! The number of hidden twists in this is epic, and I have no idea how the author kept them straight. It’s an interesting and relevant novel to these days – both in hiding your tracks and tracking others.