Jia: A Novel of North Korea Kindle Edition
by Heyjin Kim (Author)
by Heyjin Kim (Author)
Length: 265 pages Word Wise: Enabled Enhanced
The first novel about present-day North Korea to be published in the West.
A moving and true-to-life tale of courage in the face of oppression and exile.
Hyejin Kim’s Jia follows the adventures of an orphaned young woman, Jia, who has the grace of a dancer but the misfortune of coming from a politically suspect family. In the isolated mining village of her childhood, Jia’s father, a science teacher, questions government intrusion into his classroom and is taken away by police, never to be heard from again. Now Jia must leave the village where her family has been sent as punishment to carve a path for herself. Her journey takes her first to Pyongyang, and finally to Shenyang in northeast China. Along the way, she falls in love with a soldier, befriends beggars, is kidnapped, beaten, and sold, negotiates Chinese culture, and learns to balance cruel necessity with the possibilities of kindness and love. Above all, Jia must remain wary, always ready to adapt to the “capricious political winds” of modern North Korea and China.
Product details
File Size: 900 KB
Print Length: 265 pages
Publisher: Cleis Press (July 1, 2007)
Publication Date: July 1, 2007
Customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
19 customer ratings
------------------
Top Reviews
Evi Blueth
4.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoyed JIA, in fact I couldn't put it downReviewed in the United States on June 2, 2016
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
I really enjoyed JIA, in fact I couldn't put it down. The characters were well developed and there was enough suspense mixed in with a lot of educational aspects of the reality of life in N. Korea. The author didn't minimize the difficulties that N. Koreans experience trying to cross into China. This story was heartfelt, heartbreaking but also a story of courage and redemption. I am very interested in reading about N. Korea and there are few novels that bring you close to what life is like there, not ignoring both the exceptional and the horrible. This is a must read for anyone intrigued by a country that tries to keep it's borders closed, where there is a huge divide between rich and poor and starvation is not unusual, and where the inhabitants have to be very careful and very dutiful if they want to survive.
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G. S. Harris
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, probably based on truthReviewed in the United States on June 1, 2016
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
I found this interesting, moderately well-written, and probably based on truth. As a novel, it was okay, good for simple reading; I enjoyed it as a story about someone overcoming hardships. My guess is that it is based on truth so that made it more interesting but great literature it isn't.
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Michelle the ColoristTop Contributor: Coloring
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book full of insight...Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2016
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
I really enjoyed this book. It gave me a really good insight into what it is like to live in North Korea. I want to warn everyone though, this is not a happy type of book. Parts of it are very upsetting.
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Carruth 1
5.0 out of 5 stars Eye openingReviewed in the United States on June 4, 2016
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
Jia brings to life an existence which is incomprehensible from anything I have known. More surprising is how contemporary it is. The characters are well written. A reader who enjoys expanding their understanding of our world will enjoy this book.
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susan seaman
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and sad learning about North KoreaReviewed in the United States on May 14, 2016
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
Well written. Hard to read. but impossible to put down. Interesting and sad learning about North Korea.
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COD
5.0 out of 5 stars InspiringReviewed in the United States on May 23, 2016
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
What a journey. From such a young age,Jia is so resilient. Her story is sad yet simply inspiring to everyone.
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Dan Cragg
2.0 out of 5 stars A Good First StartReviewed in the United States on March 17, 2010
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Ms. Kim's JIA is based on a very original idea, a novel about life in North Korea and it attains the author's objective, to portray the people of that benighted land as real human beings. JIA is written in the first person so this limits Ms. Kim's portrayal of the other characters because they're seen only from the narrator's perspective and they cross the pages of this book without revealing much of themselves. The introduction early in the story of Jia's maternal grandparents, for instance, could have given the author a golden opportunity to present the lives and motivations of North Korea's privileged ruling class but she failed to exploit it. Only the most experienced writers can use the first-person narrative technique successfully. She has yet to develop this skill. While her view of life in North Korea is based on the real-life experiences of actual escapees and rings true to those narratives it lacks the brutal immediacy of memoirs such as Hyok Kang's THIS IS PARADISE! or Kang Chol-Hwan's THE AQUARIUMS OF PYONGYANG. The grinding misery and oppression of life in North Korea is also better described in Barbara Demick's poignant NOTHING TO ENVY, ORDINARY LIVES IN NORTH KOREA and Mike Kim's riveting ESCAPING NORTH KOREA. Compared to these books Ms. Kim's JIA comes through as a talented young writer's first novel, full of promise, distinguished by some brilliant writing (throwaway blurbs for her publisher), but ultimately boring.
7 people found this helpful
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ThisGuy
5.0 out of 5 stars AmazingReviewed in the United States on December 2, 2009
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
A well written novel. Probably one of the best books I've ever read. Having read it years ago, I can still vividly go back to certain scenes.
One person found this helpful
HelpfulComment Report abuse
See all reviews from the United States
The first novel about present-day North Korea to be published in the West.
A moving and true-to-life tale of courage in the face of oppression and exile.
Hyejin Kim’s Jia follows the adventures of an orphaned young woman, Jia, who has the grace of a dancer but the misfortune of coming from a politically suspect family. In the isolated mining village of her childhood, Jia’s father, a science teacher, questions government intrusion into his classroom and is taken away by police, never to be heard from again. Now Jia must leave the village where her family has been sent as punishment to carve a path for herself. Her journey takes her first to Pyongyang, and finally to Shenyang in northeast China. Along the way, she falls in love with a soldier, befriends beggars, is kidnapped, beaten, and sold, negotiates Chinese culture, and learns to balance cruel necessity with the possibilities of kindness and love. Above all, Jia must remain wary, always ready to adapt to the “capricious political winds” of modern North Korea and China.
Product details
File Size: 900 KB
Print Length: 265 pages
Publisher: Cleis Press (July 1, 2007)
Publication Date: July 1, 2007
Customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
19 customer ratings
------------------
Top Reviews
Evi Blueth
4.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoyed JIA, in fact I couldn't put it downReviewed in the United States on June 2, 2016
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
I really enjoyed JIA, in fact I couldn't put it down. The characters were well developed and there was enough suspense mixed in with a lot of educational aspects of the reality of life in N. Korea. The author didn't minimize the difficulties that N. Koreans experience trying to cross into China. This story was heartfelt, heartbreaking but also a story of courage and redemption. I am very interested in reading about N. Korea and there are few novels that bring you close to what life is like there, not ignoring both the exceptional and the horrible. This is a must read for anyone intrigued by a country that tries to keep it's borders closed, where there is a huge divide between rich and poor and starvation is not unusual, and where the inhabitants have to be very careful and very dutiful if they want to survive.
HelpfulComment Report abuse
G. S. Harris
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, probably based on truthReviewed in the United States on June 1, 2016
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
I found this interesting, moderately well-written, and probably based on truth. As a novel, it was okay, good for simple reading; I enjoyed it as a story about someone overcoming hardships. My guess is that it is based on truth so that made it more interesting but great literature it isn't.
HelpfulComment Report abuse
Michelle the ColoristTop Contributor: Coloring
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book full of insight...Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2016
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
I really enjoyed this book. It gave me a really good insight into what it is like to live in North Korea. I want to warn everyone though, this is not a happy type of book. Parts of it are very upsetting.
HelpfulComment Report abuse
Carruth 1
5.0 out of 5 stars Eye openingReviewed in the United States on June 4, 2016
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
Jia brings to life an existence which is incomprehensible from anything I have known. More surprising is how contemporary it is. The characters are well written. A reader who enjoys expanding their understanding of our world will enjoy this book.
HelpfulComment Report abuse
susan seaman
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and sad learning about North KoreaReviewed in the United States on May 14, 2016
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
Well written. Hard to read. but impossible to put down. Interesting and sad learning about North Korea.
HelpfulComment Report abuse
COD
5.0 out of 5 stars InspiringReviewed in the United States on May 23, 2016
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
What a journey. From such a young age,Jia is so resilient. Her story is sad yet simply inspiring to everyone.
HelpfulComment Report abuse
Dan Cragg
2.0 out of 5 stars A Good First StartReviewed in the United States on March 17, 2010
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Ms. Kim's JIA is based on a very original idea, a novel about life in North Korea and it attains the author's objective, to portray the people of that benighted land as real human beings. JIA is written in the first person so this limits Ms. Kim's portrayal of the other characters because they're seen only from the narrator's perspective and they cross the pages of this book without revealing much of themselves. The introduction early in the story of Jia's maternal grandparents, for instance, could have given the author a golden opportunity to present the lives and motivations of North Korea's privileged ruling class but she failed to exploit it. Only the most experienced writers can use the first-person narrative technique successfully. She has yet to develop this skill. While her view of life in North Korea is based on the real-life experiences of actual escapees and rings true to those narratives it lacks the brutal immediacy of memoirs such as Hyok Kang's THIS IS PARADISE! or Kang Chol-Hwan's THE AQUARIUMS OF PYONGYANG. The grinding misery and oppression of life in North Korea is also better described in Barbara Demick's poignant NOTHING TO ENVY, ORDINARY LIVES IN NORTH KOREA and Mike Kim's riveting ESCAPING NORTH KOREA. Compared to these books Ms. Kim's JIA comes through as a talented young writer's first novel, full of promise, distinguished by some brilliant writing (throwaway blurbs for her publisher), but ultimately boring.
7 people found this helpful
HelpfulComment Report abuse
ThisGuy
5.0 out of 5 stars AmazingReviewed in the United States on December 2, 2009
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
A well written novel. Probably one of the best books I've ever read. Having read it years ago, I can still vividly go back to certain scenes.
One person found this helpful
HelpfulComment Report abuse
See all reviews from the United States
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