North Korea Confidential: Private Markets, Fashion Trends, Prison Camps, Dissenters and Defectors

Veteran voice actor Perkins’s straightforward narration leads listeners through this study of everyday experiences of the 24 million North Koreans living under the dictatorship of Kim Jong-un. The authors readily admit that reporting on North Korea is a challenge given the wall of secrecy, isolation, and fear that surrounds the country and its inhabitants; still, they manage to draw out a few tantalizing glimpses into everyday life—such as how the government dictates the hairstyles and clothing choices for its populace, with deviations from prescribed looks potentially resulting in prison time. Perkins delivers the information in a clear voice, but the book—which is more sociological study than nonfiction narrative—offers no individual story lines and little in the way of emotional weight. As a result, listeners are confronted with a steady stream of names, cities, dates, and other facts. Perkins works well with what he has, but the source material’s dryness is hard to overcome. [em]A Tuttle hardcover. (Feb.) [/em]