Isn’t it? And you should definitely read Nothing to Envy, which was superb.

Hahahaha, I unfortunately had to pay a LOT of attention to George W Bush in the years he was president. I remain very relieved that that time is over now. But yeah, North Korea gets a little play in the newspapers here, often because they’ve done or said something insane and improbable.

Yeah, that’s a really valid point. I didn’t come to one conclusion or the other — just felt uncomfortable with it, to some extent, and I couldn’t figure out how to reconcile it.

Thanks for recommending it so highly! You convinced me to check it out and read it on my Thanksgiving holiday, and I thought it was fantastic.

It’s a good one — recommended.

It was SO good! I read it since writing this review and was blown away.

Phew, that sounds like a hell of a reading kick. And yes, Suki Kim is definitely respectful of her students. You can tell that she was fond of them, and she’s trying to convey both sides of them, the endearing side and the frankly rather sinister side.

It is, it is! I feel so sad that the nation’s leaders have managed to keep their people in this level of ignorance. Bleh.

Yeah, it’s a fascinating country. I read Nothing to Envy over Thanksgiving and thought it was incredible — both incredible as a superlative, and used literally.