With so little access to North Korea, it must be very difficult to present a true picture or accounting of life in that desolate country. Fischer, using interviews of this books main characters, gives us a glimpse into the strange priorities of Kim-Jong-Il during his tenure.
…more Fiction readers will relate this book to The Orphan Master's Son and prefer the fictional weave of that book. Nonfiction readers will enjoy this book but might find its pace and resolution lacking. At the end even the author still had questions and loose strings. Good read but strangely unfulfilling. (less)