The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story Kindle Edition
by Hyeonseo Lee (Author), David John (Contributor)
4.8 out of 5 stars 3,919 ratings
Length: 322 pages Word Wise: Enabled Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled
Audible book: AvailableProduct details
File Size: 2648 KB
Print Length: 322 pages
Publisher: William Collins (July 2, 2015)
Publication Date: July 2, 2015
Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers
Language: English
Hyeonseo Lee
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
An extraordinary insight into life under one of the world’s most ruthless and secretive dictatorships – and the story of one woman’s terrifying struggle to avoid capture/repatriation and guide her family to freedom.
As a child growing up in North Korea, Hyeonseo Lee was one of millions trapped by a secretive and brutal communist regime. Her home on the border with China gave her some exposure to the world beyond the confines of the Hermit Kingdom and, as the famine of the 1990s struck, she began to wonder, question and to realise that she had been brainwashed her entire life. Given the repression, poverty and starvation she witnessed surely her country could not be, as she had been told “the best on the planet”?
Aged seventeen, she decided to escape North Korea. She could not have imagined that it would be twelve years before she was reunited with her family.
Review
‘The most riveting TED talk ever’ Oprah
‘Harrowing’ Wired
Samantha Power, U.S. representative to the U.N.
‘A sad and beautiful story of a girl who could not even keep her name, yet overcame all with the identity of what it is to be human’
Jang Jin-sung, author of ‘Dear Leader’
‘Stirring and brave … true, committed, unvarnished and honest. Lee has made her own life the keyhole to the present, inside and outside of North Korea’ Scotsman
‘Remarkable bravery fluently recounted’ Kirkus
About the Author
Hyeonseo Lee grew up in North Korea but escaped to China in 1997. In 2008, after more than 10 years there, she came to Seoul, South Korea, where she struggled to adjust to life in the bustling city. Recently graduated from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, she has become a regular speaker on the international stage fostering human rights and awareness of the plight of North Koreans. She is an advocate for fellow refugees, even helping close relatives leave North Korea. Her TED talk has been viewed nearly 4 million times. She is married to her American husband Brian Gleason and currently lives in South Korea.
Customer reviews
4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
3,919 customer ratings
Top international reviews
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely movingReviewed in the United Kingdom on May 14, 2017
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I don't think I've encountered such an emotionally moving book, more than a few times I've verbally said 'oh no...' before something bad happens and dreaded to read on, but unable to resist. It's so incredibly heartbreaking and yet enlightening to hear about the terrors of the North Korean regime from a woman who was once loyal to it, only to realise the truth about her country and escape. Genuinely, every person NEEDS to read this book because it will make you feel so incredibly lucky to be living a free life, safe from starvation, torture and oppression. This is the only book that gives me butterflies because it it so tense and nerve wracking. She and her biographer took me on a rollercoaster of hopefullness and hopelessness, and I have an undying respect for this amazing woman after hearing her story unlike any other.
13 people found this helpful
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EmmabBooks
5.0 out of 5 stars Living in North Korea, and after. Outstanding.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 17, 2017
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This is a memoir about growing up in North Korea, escaping (almost my mistake) and finally living in South Korea. Hyeonseo Lee tells of her upbringing in North Korea - a country she loved (though there were plenty of downsides!), and its contrast with life just across the river in China.
Hyeonseo Lee's story is fascinating, telling of how she was indoctrinated by the regime, the irritation of the enforced communal activities and the horrors of the famine of 1996. Her story is told as she saw it at the age she was writing about, with some retrospective comments. One of her first impressions of China was "I'd come from a world of black and white into one of Technicolor". She describes the enormous differences in the two countries and her problems with terrible homesickness.
A book with so much drama and terrifying action it is hard to put down. There are useful maps at the beginning of the book, and photos midway through. The writing style is easy to read, though much of the subject matter is, of course, very thought provoking.
A great read, particularly so with what is going on in the world at the moment. So good I have already bought a friend a copy, and have recommended it to many others.
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8 people found this helpful
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franco1989
5.0 out of 5 stars What a good choice for a movie of the same name.Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 15, 2018
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
This book, had it not dealt with North Korea and the sensitivity this country arouses, should have by now been made into a film. Intrigue, serendipity, tragedy, despair and lots of varied visual images (from the bleakness of communist Korea to 21st century capitalist Shanghai) - it has all these in abundance. At one point I asked myself if it could be true - only to be reminded of my own experiences in a developing country where I had to resort to smuggling out currency and illegally applying for an extension to my visa to facilitate this.
Verified Purchase
This is a memoir about growing up in North Korea, escaping (almost my mistake) and finally living in South Korea. Hyeonseo Lee tells of her upbringing in North Korea - a country she loved (though there were plenty of downsides!), and its contrast with life just across the river in China.
Hyeonseo Lee's story is fascinating, telling of how she was indoctrinated by the regime, the irritation of the enforced communal activities and the horrors of the famine of 1996. Her story is told as she saw it at the age she was writing about, with some retrospective comments. One of her first impressions of China was "I'd come from a world of black and white into one of Technicolor". She describes the enormous differences in the two countries and her problems with terrible homesickness.
A book with so much drama and terrifying action it is hard to put down. There are useful maps at the beginning of the book, and photos midway through. The writing style is easy to read, though much of the subject matter is, of course, very thought provoking.
A great read, particularly so with what is going on in the world at the moment. So good I have already bought a friend a copy, and have recommended it to many others.
Read less
8 people found this helpful
HelpfulReport abuse
franco1989
5.0 out of 5 stars What a good choice for a movie of the same name.Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 15, 2018
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
This book, had it not dealt with North Korea and the sensitivity this country arouses, should have by now been made into a film. Intrigue, serendipity, tragedy, despair and lots of varied visual images (from the bleakness of communist Korea to 21st century capitalist Shanghai) - it has all these in abundance. At one point I asked myself if it could be true - only to be reminded of my own experiences in a developing country where I had to resort to smuggling out currency and illegally applying for an extension to my visa to facilitate this.
As a linguist I must also highlight the brilliant translation - it is word-perfect with some spectacularly chosen phrases (illuminated neon signs high up on buildings at night in modern-day China described as (if I recall rightly) 'atolls of light in a sea of darkness'. Perhaps the Winter Olympic Games of 2018 may produce a thaw (pun unintended) in the North-South relationship. Then let's see this brought to the big screen.
5 people found this helpful
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Wilf Brooks
5.0 out of 5 stars ... which exposes some of the difficulties faced by the poor inhabitants of North Korea as well as the problems ...Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 18, 2017
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
A very well written book which exposes some of the difficulties faced by the poor inhabitants of North Korea as well as the problems of anyone trying to escape from the regime. Hyeon Seo Lee has had more ups and downs in her young life than most of us have during three times her time on the planet. The whole book kept me enthralled throughout and due to the fairly short chapters was easy to pick up and put down without losing track of what had already gone. I knew little about Korea, North or South until I read this book and it has now led me to read a bit more about the peninsula and the origins of the difficulties between the North and South. A very good read and one I would recommend to anyone with a thir4st for knowledge.
3 people found this helpful
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Amanda
5.0 out of 5 stars THE GIRL WITH SEVEN NAMES: ESCAPE FROM NORTH KOREAReviewed in the United Kingdom on May 28, 2018
Verified Purchase
Hyeonsea Lee was a young girl living and growing up in North Korea under a very strict regime and witnessing some dreadful and unspeakable acts against humanity. In 1990 when famine hits her country, this brave lady, aged only 17 decides to escape, knowing she is taking a huge risk into the unknown coupled with the harsh reality that she may never see her mother or brother again. Reading this extraordinary book as Hyeonsea takes us on her journey I can only say that I highly recommend this very interesting and poignant novel.
4 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2018
5 people found this helpful
HelpfulReport abuse
Wilf Brooks
5.0 out of 5 stars ... which exposes some of the difficulties faced by the poor inhabitants of North Korea as well as the problems ...Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 18, 2017
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
A very well written book which exposes some of the difficulties faced by the poor inhabitants of North Korea as well as the problems of anyone trying to escape from the regime. Hyeon Seo Lee has had more ups and downs in her young life than most of us have during three times her time on the planet. The whole book kept me enthralled throughout and due to the fairly short chapters was easy to pick up and put down without losing track of what had already gone. I knew little about Korea, North or South until I read this book and it has now led me to read a bit more about the peninsula and the origins of the difficulties between the North and South. A very good read and one I would recommend to anyone with a thir4st for knowledge.
3 people found this helpful
HelpfulReport abuse
Amanda
5.0 out of 5 stars THE GIRL WITH SEVEN NAMES: ESCAPE FROM NORTH KOREAReviewed in the United Kingdom on May 28, 2018
Verified Purchase
Hyeonsea Lee was a young girl living and growing up in North Korea under a very strict regime and witnessing some dreadful and unspeakable acts against humanity. In 1990 when famine hits her country, this brave lady, aged only 17 decides to escape, knowing she is taking a huge risk into the unknown coupled with the harsh reality that she may never see her mother or brother again. Reading this extraordinary book as Hyeonsea takes us on her journey I can only say that I highly recommend this very interesting and poignant novel.
4 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2018
I struggled to complete this book because I was never drawn into the story or the main character. Never once did I care about her fate. Never once did I care whether or not she made it to her ever changing destinations. So much of it was superficial (an unemotional retelling) and seemed contrived in the way that although she claimed to be poor, she always had money to pay for fake IDs, brokers, travel, etc.. Also, there was always someone to help her when she needed it, even when she was desperate.
Could the story of this one person actually be the combined story of several persons? I'm not buying it as a first person account.
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