Disclosure : This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Friend: A Novel from North Korea

Paek Nam-nyong`s `Friend` is a tale of marital intrigue, abuse, and divorce in North Korea. A woman in her thirties comes to a courthouse petitioning for a divorce. As the judge who hears her statement begins to investigate the case, the story unfolds into a broader consideration of love and marriage. The novel delves into its protagonists` past, describing how the couple first fell in love and then how their marriage deteriorated over the years. It chronicles the toll their acrimony takes on their son and their careers alongside the story of the judge`s own marital troubles.A best-seller in North Korea, where Paek continues to live and write, Friend illuminates a side of life in the DPRK that Western readers have never before encountered. Far from being a propagandistic screed in praise of the Great Leader, `Friend` describes the lives of people who struggle with everyday problems such as marital woes and workplace conflicts. Instead of socialist-realist stock figures, Paek depicts complex characters who wrestle with universal questions of individual identity, the split between public and private selves, the unpredictability of existence, and the never-ending labor of maintaining a relationship. This groundbreaking translation of one of North Korea`s most popular writers offers English-language readers a page-turner full of psychological tension as well as a revealing portrait of a society that is typically seen as closed to the outside world.

Related Products:

North Korea: State of Paranoia Made in North Korea : Graphics from Everyday Life in the DPRK See You Again in Pyongyang: A Journey into Kim Jong Un`s North Korea Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea`s Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon Every Falling Star: The True Story of How I Survived and Escaped North Korea North Korea: Like Nowhere Else: Two Years of Living in the World`s Most Secretive State North Korea`s Hidden Revolution: How the Information Underground is Transforming a Closed Society The Accusation: Forbidden Stories From Inside North Korea Korea North – South F&B North Korea Undercover Nothing To Envy: Real Lives In North Korea Korea North and South Nelles The Invitation-Only Zone: The True Story of North Korea`s Abduction Project Dear Leader: North Korea`s Senior Propagandist Exposes Shocking Truths Behind the Regime The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot: Escaping Tyranny in North Korea North Korea Korea North and South Reise-Know-How Map North Korea Bradt Guide North Korea Journal Pyongyang: Journey in North Korea North Korea Confidential: Private Markets, Fashion Trends, Prison Camps, Dissenters and Defectors A Brief History of Korea: Isolation, War, Despotism and Revival: The Fascinating Story of a Resilient But Divided People Everlasting Flower – A History of Korea Flag of North Korea Without You, There is No Us: My Secret Life Teaching the Sons of North Korea`s Elite Ask A North Korean: Defectors Talk About Their Lives Inside the World`s Most Secretive Nation Korea South & North ITMB A Purse Full of Tales: Folk Tales from Korea The Border – A Journey Around Russia: Through North Korea, China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Norway and the Northwest Passage Are You Blue Dog`s Friend? Geek in Korea The New Koreans: The Business, History and People of South Korea China East – North and South Korea Reise Know-How Admiralty Chart 884 – Ports On The North East Coast Of Korea My Brilliant Friend (tv Tie-in) D.P.R. Korea: Grand Tour North and South The Sun Tyrant: A Nightmare Called North Korea My Friend Earth