A Kim Jong-Il Production by Paul Fischer

Kim Jong-Il, the North Korean leader, was an avid movie fanatic. Realizing the power of the medium to sell his version of the country’s story, he arranged to abduct South Korean cinema’s golden couple: movie director Shin Sang-Ok and actress Choi Eun-Ee, and forced them to make propaganda movies. This is a blockbuster account of not just a bizarre true story but of the surreal North Korea of the ‘70s and’ 80s. It is also a brilliant exploration of cinema as political tool. Celluloid can be crafted to tell any story — be it one of escape or mass delusion.

Thanks to BookBrowse's First Impressions program for an ARC.

Review: The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson

Timing matters. Two years ago, a spectacular book movingly described conditions in repressive North Korea. The stunning Nothingto Envy was nominated for the National Book Award but despite critical acclaim, the book sadly didn’t make any inroads onto the best sellers lists. Now two years later, a work of literary fiction, The Orphan Master’s Son, is here to make amends. It helps things along that the book so happened to be released right around the death of the country’s longstanding dictator, Kim Jong Il.

The rest of my review can be found here.

Thanks to Netgalley for giving me access to a copy of the book on my Kindle.