Philippe Grangereau

“This is paradise!” is a very interesting but also shocking account of life in North Korea as witnessed by a young boy who finally manages to escape the regime through the Chinese border when he’s in his late teens/ early twenties. I would highly recommend the book to anybody interested in North Korea or in regimes in general. It’s a real eye opener when it comes to human rights abuse but also a great insight into North Korean educational system, labour market (if even we can call it that) as well as into social life and mentality of the locals. Be forewarned however that some parts of this short book are truly shocking even if you have some sort of idea of North Korean life and, due to this, it is not the easiest read, very grim and Orwell-like.… (more)

As it says, this is an autobiography of a guy who grew up in North Korea and eventually fled the country with his parents. It's a little stilted-sounding in parts, but apparently that's because of the English version being a bad translation from the French version, which seems like a lot of babelfishing to me. But it's an interesting and sometimes horrifying read. And my knowledge about North Korea is now a lot greater! I put a couple of similar books on my Amazon wishlist in the hopes of finding one with nicer writing, but I'd still recommend this one.… (more)