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Pyongyang
Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea | Guy Delisle
29 posts | 55 read | 37 to read
One of the few Westerners granted access to North Korea documents his observations of the secretive society in this graphic travelogue that depicts the cultural alienation, boredom, and desires of ordinary North Koreans.
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Reyzl
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Pickpick

One of my favourite graphic novels. I read it years ago and now I decided to buy it. I really like Delisle‘s way of depicting everyday stories in unique and interesting places. Already thinking of adding to my collection more of his books that I also liked.

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Smrloomis
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Panpan

Oh that was a slog. I guess you could read this if you don‘t know anything about North Korea, but the author is so incredibly dense that I could barely finish. It took him forever to realize that the people around him were hungry and at the mercy of their leaders. He just came off as a real a-hole.

RaeLovesToRead I've been reading some of the reviews for this on Goodreads and some of the passages quoted are just... yikes 😬 If you want to read an excellent book on North Korea, I recommend Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick. It's a great work of journalism. (Also, In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park is well worth reading, but very upsetting.) 2y
Smrloomis @RaeLovesToRead Thanks, I agree that Demick‘s book is fantastic and a very humane exploration of people‘s lives there. I‘ve read a few others from N Korea, but not In Order to Live, thanks for the suggestion. This book though… ugh. 2y
RaeLovesToRead I definitely won't be reading this one! And I'm glad I saw your review because it's just the sort of thing that I'd pick up, so thanks. 2y
Smrloomis @RaeLovesToRead I also thought the Great Successor was interesting if you haven‘t read it already. 2y
RaeLovesToRead Stacked! 2y
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Smrloomis
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Hmm, this seems like a heavy-handed opening but I‘m curious to see what this is like.

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JGadz11
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I felt it mildly disrespectful of the people who are subjugated there, but at the end of the day: True.

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Cortg
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Pickpick

This was my choice for October book club! I wanted to introduce some of them to graphic novels and chose 3 non-fiction graphic novels for the club to choose from. I‘m glad they chose this one. It‘s interesting to get an inside look at life in North Korea. I have a few other books about NK I‘d like to read; like Cuba the lifestyle intrigues me and I want to learn more. I‘m so curious to hear the reviews about this on Friday.

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rachelm
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#groupl #lmbpc Here are some options! I haven‘t read Cosmicomics, but I usually love Calvino (Italian). That‘s a short story collection. Kitchen and Volcano are novels translated from Japanese. Kitchen is more contemporary and Volcano is more philosophical. Pyongyang is a graphic memoir translated from French about an artist working in North Korea. I‘ve tagged them all!

See All 10 Comments
KT1432 These are all so interesting! I think I'm leaning towards Calvino. I've had Invisible Cities on my TBR for a little while, and Cosmicomics sounds just as good. But I'm also intrigued by Kitchen! 5y
Carolyn11215 I‘ve read Kitchen many years ago and remember really liking it but that‘s all I can remember about it! :) I‘m a fan of Calvino and never stumbled across this book of his so that‘s probably my first choice. Would be happy with any of the others though! 5y
aeeklund I've been meaning to read Calvino for so long, but never have, and this book sounds really intriguing! The others also sound good, if there's a different one calling to you. 5y
rachelm @aeeklund @Carolyn11215 @lele14 I started the Cosmicomics and it is ... weird. I dug around and found my old copy of Invisible Cities (which I loved) and will send that instead 5y
Carolyn11215 Great! 5y
aeeklund @rachelm Perfect!! 5y
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Adventures-of-a-French-Reader
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Pickpick

Guy Delisle shares in this book his experience in North Korea. It's from 2003, but I think it's still a relevant book, which is very interesting to read.
To which extent are North Koreans isolated and cut from the rest of the world? To which extent does their brainwashing work? These are the questions now in my mind... Now I want to read more about North Korea, particularly about its inhabitants!

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Pedrocamacho
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Pickpick

This is a fun graphic novel about Delisle‘s trip to an animation studio in North Korea.

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GatheringBooks
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Panpan

#ReadingResolutions Day 24: I read this graphic travelogue a few weeks back and am scheduled to post a full review soon. There is clear and present #Power established here given such a regime, but there is also #Power exercised by a White man filled with judgments and prejudice in the way he viewed and portrayed the people in this city. More in my upcoming review.

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GatheringBooks
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Sunday lunch earlier (baked cheesy mussels with a dash of spice) and broccoli/cauliflower. Paired with Delisle‘s Pyongyang. I adored his Jerusalem, so definitely looking forward to this one.

swishandflick Yum!! 😋 6y
TK421 Those look so good! 6y
Gezemice Looks yummy! 6y
CouronneDhiver Mussels! 🖤 6y
UrsulaMonarch I find his books so fascinating! Just requested from the library for rereading: 6y
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GatheringBooks
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#EmojiMadness Day 4: My #LitWorld2018GB (literary voyage around the world) or 🛄 has brought me to New York (supposedly a bastion of freedom) and North Korea (its antithesis). This is bound to be an interesting contrast.

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MoniqueChristine
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Pickpick

I enjoyed Delisle‘s use of humour and light-heartedness at describing an animation gig that must have been stressful and lonely. His style of graphic memoir is very engaging, showing Pyongyang from a French-Canadian perspective—at least what he was able to see of it.

#comicsread2018 #comicbookclub

Pyongyang satisfies two #ReadHarder challenges
✔️comic written + illustrated by same person
✔️comic not published by Marvel/DC/Image

tournevis And it's Canadian content! 6y
MoniqueChristine This is very true! 😊 6y
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MoniqueChristine
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MoniqueChristine
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Delisle recounts his animation gig in North Korea and its as Orwellian as you‘d expect. The book was first published in 2005 but I imagine not much has changed about the country in the last 13 years.

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MoniqueChristine
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Yay they‘re finally here! I‘ve been waiting impatiently for this parcel of books ^_^ #comicbookclub2018

UrsulaMonarch Nice! I like delisle 's books about different places! What is the book on the right? 6y
MoniqueChristine @UrsulaMonarch the book on the right is the second volume to The Girl From the Other Side by Nagabe. An interesting fairytale-inspired comic about a little girl and her not so human guardian. I really liked the first volume so I hope this one is just as good :) 6y
UrsulaMonarch @Monique thank you! I really like the art on the cover & wanted to stack it! 😄 6y
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ProfessorBeanbag
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I adore this book! Everything it does is understated to perfection. The humour is subtle and surreal whilst so much else is quietly poignant. Delisle understands he doesn't require a commentary, just to present the strangeness of life and let us see for ourselves.

This would make a fantastic double bill with Dom Jolly's "the dark tourist".

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cristiana_de_sousa
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Pickpick

Uma graphic novel muito interessante! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

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LukkiAnn
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Pickpick

Guy Delisle is my go-to graphic novel author. He is exploring and showing cultures and customs of troubled countries through drawing. This book is about his two months staying in North Korea. His was fed up with propaganda and left the country with no regrets.

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Nitabasu
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Pickpick

Obviously biased and not entirely factually accurate, but a poignant and funny account of living in NK, and an enjoyable read everyone should check out.

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nothisisridiculous
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Pickpick

I was a bit wary, but this graphic novel, detailing the author's two months working in a North Korean animation studio, is pretty great. Not the most informative book on the subject, but a good account of how strange it is to visit.

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Onioons
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We've got some great animators at this studio. The best one was Kim Sun-Yok...

Who is he? Is he on one of our teams?

No.

What production is he working on?

He isn't here anymore...

Huh? Are there other studios in North Korea?

No, none.

Oh, I see. He went abroad.

Not at all.

So where is this super animator? He didn't just disappear. Did he?

'Vaporised' is what Orwell calls those who are gone and best forgotten.

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Onioons
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Some days the postman is my favourite person in the world 🚲📦🌎 Yay for weekend reading!

Cinfhen I feel the same way, and other days...not so much! 7y
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Gleefulreader
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Pickpick

I've now read three of Guy Delisle's four graphic memoirs of his time spent abroad. While I feel that Jerusalem has been the best so far, this was also fascinating as it covers his time spent working as an animator in North Korea during the Kim Jong-Il era, prior to some of the more recent "opening" that has occurred there. The oddness of the sanitized city and the people that live under the regime is highlighted in Delisle's vignettes.

Lacythebookworm I recently read this one, too. I'm always interested in glimpses into North Korean life! 7y
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rachelm
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#favegraphicnovel for #booktober:
I honestly have a bunch, but let me recommend this one. A true account inside North Korea-- in visual form. Funny, eye opening, and sad all in one. If you liked Without You there is No Us, try this.

Gezemice Looks interesting! We know so little about North Korea. 7y
EnidBiteEm I agree with @Gezemice It sounds highly original, and it is important to learn more when we know so little. 7y
BekahB When Adam Johnson visited the community college in my town, he mostly discussed the time he visited North Korea. This was one of the books he recommended. I really want to read it! 7y
rachelm @BekahB I'll have to check that out! 7y
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Bookbeez
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In Lille, France for the next few days. Lots of bookstores, and a BD festival. I'll try to get pics of the book market too. Yay!!!

cecilhoney1988 Have fun! 8y
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smccallum
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First book down in #24in48 and dents made in others! #readathon #graphicnovel

PurpleyPumpkin I'm jealous!!! And I'm just getting started... 8y
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sofiaga
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Really interesting quote.

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sofiaga
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A new graphic novel for my collection.

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art_vandelay
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Trying to describe Aphex Twin to the security at Pyongyang airport. 😊

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