Sleepless

I stayed up until 4AM last night to finish “A Girl With Seven Names” and I’ve been groggy the whole day today, even when I was out grocery shopping. What a story. I’ve read “A Thousand Miles To Freedom”, and “In Order To Live” before. There are a lot of similarities between the three books, but I like this last one the best, probably because it explained the system of ration, hierarchy, and trade better. Well I might have understood it better due to the previous two books I read, which prepared me for better comprehension of this third one. It’s impossible for me to imagine famine happening right now in a world of plenitude and gluttony–all those YouTube videos of people gorging themselves in expensive buffets and those eating contests. I can’t believe I watch those regularly. I guess I am just as sick. I do remember stories about famine people of my grandparents age told me when I grew up. It’s awful.

At the end, I was at first a little shocked that Lee’s mother and brother wanted to go back. Then I thought about it and it really makes sense. It is hard for her mother and brother to work in menial jobs day in and day out. If North Korea is not so sadistic as to persecute those who return, they would have gone back. This reminds me of my acquaintance S, who’s a caring big brother to his younger siblings. After he settled in New Jersey, he helped several of his relatives to immigrate to the States, but none could get a job that’s comparable to the jobs they held back home. Eventually all went back. So S becomes the only one staying. He ends up where he started, minus all those money he spent on the immigration process for his relatives.

I never know Amazon Prime Reading has good books. Usually it contains books that either I’ve read or I don’t ever want to read. Now this book is a surprise. I am glad that I found it.