Under the same sky : from starvation in North Korea to salvation in America by
Joseph Kim with Stephen Talty Mariner Books, 2016 273 pages £12
ISBN 978 0 544 705 272
The particular interest of this story about North Korea is that it is written by an insider, an eyewitness in a very secretive society.
Most of the 57 chapters and Epilogue (267 pages in all) recount the experiences of Joseph Kim as a youngster growing up in North Korea from 1990 to 2007.
He lived what might well be described as a normal life until he was 5 years old, then the Great Famine caused devastation on an unimaginable scale. His father died; his mother and sister escaped to China and Joseph himself learnt to survive by begging and stealing. Life was a struggle.
Eventually, he crossed into China where a Christian lady took him in and hid him from the Chinese authorities.
With the aid of an underground network of Christian activists he was transported to the USA, one of very few North Koreans to reach America.
He learned English, was a very committed student and went to college.
An epilogue giving a brief snapshot of his life in the USA brings the book to a close, a happy ending to the difficult life of a North Korean youngster.