The Accusation
Autor Bandien Limba Engleză Hardback – 6 mar 2017
With rights sold in fifteen territories and already a publishing phenomenon in France and South Korea, The Accusation is a deeply moving and eye-opening piece of fiction that exposes the truth of the North Korean regime. Set during the period of Kim Jong-Il's leadership, the seven stories that make up The Accusation throw light on different aspects of life in North Korea, and as a whole form a vivid and frightening portrait of what it means to live in this most bizarre and horrifying of dictatorships.
One story, "The Magic Elm", tells the tale of a war hero and former ardent communist who plants an elm tree in his back garden to commemorate one of his brothers-in-arms. A family friend who works at a nearby factory must decide whether he will intercede on this man's behalf when the tree is to be cut down to make way for a new power line and the war hero is prepared to defend it with his life. In another story, "The Town of Specters", a Pyongyang mother's young son misbehaves during a party rally, crying out when he sees a portrait of Karl Marx, whom he thinks is a monster of Korean myth known as the Eobi. A consequent visit from a party official throws the family into great peril. Other stories deal with a mother's attempts to feed her husband during the worst years of a famine and a woman in a perilous situation who meets the Dear Leader himself. As a whole, The Accusation is a powerful portrait of what it means to live in a completely closed-off society, and a heartbreaking yet hopeful portrayal of the humanity that persists even in such dire circumstances.
One story, "The Magic Elm", tells the tale of a war hero and former ardent communist who plants an elm tree in his back garden to commemorate one of his brothers-in-arms. A family friend who works at a nearby factory must decide whether he will intercede on this man's behalf when the tree is to be cut down to make way for a new power line and the war hero is prepared to defend it with his life. In another story, "The Town of Specters", a Pyongyang mother's young son misbehaves during a party rally, crying out when he sees a portrait of Karl Marx, whom he thinks is a monster of Korean myth known as the Eobi. A consequent visit from a party official throws the family into great peril. Other stories deal with a mother's attempts to feed her husband during the worst years of a famine and a woman in a perilous situation who meets the Dear Leader himself. As a whole, The Accusation is a powerful portrait of what it means to live in a completely closed-off society, and a heartbreaking yet hopeful portrayal of the humanity that persists even in such dire circumstances.
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Specificații
ISBN-13: 9780802126207
ISBN-10: 0802126200
Pagini: 288
Dimensiuni: 140 x 210 mm
Greutate: 0.39 kg
Editura: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Colecția Grove Press
ISBN-10: 0802126200
Pagini: 288
Dimensiuni: 140 x 210 mm
Greutate: 0.39 kg
Editura: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Colecția Grove Press
Recenzii
“Dissident tales from pseudonymous author Bandi, still living in the country . . . very rare fiction to emerge from the secretive dictatorship . . . on its way to becoming an international literary sensation.”—Alison Flood, Guardian
“Plunges us into the daily life of families in North Korea. These stories are the cry of a man suffocated by totalitarianism. These are also the cry of an entire people who have been broken under the yoke of North Korean communism . . . The author makes use of storytelling, poetry, humor, and even the burlesque to aid his condemnation of these unbearable injustices. The writing is simple, humble, which gives it its beauty. The seven novellas shine with humanity and tenderness.”—Aleteia
“This collection of novellas that the author managed to extract from his country is of incredible value . . . The classic construction reminds us of Gogol and Chekhov, and for their taste for absurdist satire, Ionesco and Bulgakov.”—Books Magazine
“Describes in very impressionistic, subtle, almost veiled tones, if I may, the daily life of a dictatorship . . . The book gives a human face, gives stories and images, to the sufferings of North Koreans . . . I was almost groggy by the time I finished reading, reminding myself of just how lucky I am to live in a democracy . . . I thought of Orwell and Kafka but realized that the country described here really exists and that there are people who are living there, perhaps not even knowing that a different kind of life is possible.”—L’express
“Bandi, a pseudonym that means “firefly”, has achieved the unthinkable – offering a testimony on the dictatorial regime of North Korea while remaining in situ . . . In the same way as the works of Solzhenitsyn in their time, Bandi’s writing reminds us of the perennial necessity of battling censorship, whatever the cost.”—L’amour des livres
“This author is completely unknown and would like to stay that way. He continues to live in a country that is held fast by an iron fist, putting his life at risk by writing. He describes, not without humor, the ordinary life of this dictatorship, the extreme misery there, and the surveillance networks that have been put in place by the regime, which make everyone into a potential spy or informant.”—Mag Dimanche
“Even if one did not know anything about the writer or the way the manuscript was smuggled out of the country, it would not diminish the fact that the force of this collection of novellas evokes the classics of world literature about totalitarianism.”—L’ours
“A message in a bottle that is so precious that we should all reach out to grab it and better understand the tragedy of the last Marxist regime in the world.”—Le Revenu
“Stories of simple people that are humiliated and beaten down for absurd reasons, watched over by grotesque henchmen and toadying neighbors, arrested and punished by a dictatorship that has held the country under its heel for six decades. A book to burst the silence.”—La Vie
“This rare collection offers seven moving novellas, snapshots of a country where nothing normal ever leaks out . . . A far cry from the grandiloquent, ridiculous images that are thrown out by the Kim Jong-Un regime, The Accusation offers the opportunity to discover a moving portrait of a secret country, a forgotten land where humanity only asks to try to triumph.”—Lire
“No one could imagine that it could be at all comical to live in a dictatorship, but in describing the limitless absurdity of the system, Bandi sometimes makes the reader give out a nervous laugh . . . A fragile hint of light in a country that confuses democracy with obscurantism.”—L’Alsace
“Each of these stories shows a different aspect of the remorseless dictatorship . . . With a fierce sense of irony and a deeply dark humor, Bandi denounces totalitarianism, the divisions in North Korean society, and the absurdity and corruption of the one party system.”—La Grande Parade
“Stories written with a great humanity, the work of a true writer.”—Lecturama.fr
“The appearance of this collection of seven novellas is a true publishing event.”—Livres Hebdo
“Plunges us into the daily life of families in North Korea. These stories are the cry of a man suffocated by totalitarianism. These are also the cry of an entire people who have been broken under the yoke of North Korean communism . . . The author makes use of storytelling, poetry, humor, and even the burlesque to aid his condemnation of these unbearable injustices. The writing is simple, humble, which gives it its beauty. The seven novellas shine with humanity and tenderness.”—Aleteia
“This collection of novellas that the author managed to extract from his country is of incredible value . . . The classic construction reminds us of Gogol and Chekhov, and for their taste for absurdist satire, Ionesco and Bulgakov.”—Books Magazine
“Describes in very impressionistic, subtle, almost veiled tones, if I may, the daily life of a dictatorship . . . The book gives a human face, gives stories and images, to the sufferings of North Koreans . . . I was almost groggy by the time I finished reading, reminding myself of just how lucky I am to live in a democracy . . . I thought of Orwell and Kafka but realized that the country described here really exists and that there are people who are living there, perhaps not even knowing that a different kind of life is possible.”—L’express
“Bandi, a pseudonym that means “firefly”, has achieved the unthinkable – offering a testimony on the dictatorial regime of North Korea while remaining in situ . . . In the same way as the works of Solzhenitsyn in their time, Bandi’s writing reminds us of the perennial necessity of battling censorship, whatever the cost.”—L’amour des livres
“This author is completely unknown and would like to stay that way. He continues to live in a country that is held fast by an iron fist, putting his life at risk by writing. He describes, not without humor, the ordinary life of this dictatorship, the extreme misery there, and the surveillance networks that have been put in place by the regime, which make everyone into a potential spy or informant.”—Mag Dimanche
“Even if one did not know anything about the writer or the way the manuscript was smuggled out of the country, it would not diminish the fact that the force of this collection of novellas evokes the classics of world literature about totalitarianism.”—L’ours
“A message in a bottle that is so precious that we should all reach out to grab it and better understand the tragedy of the last Marxist regime in the world.”—Le Revenu
“Stories of simple people that are humiliated and beaten down for absurd reasons, watched over by grotesque henchmen and toadying neighbors, arrested and punished by a dictatorship that has held the country under its heel for six decades. A book to burst the silence.”—La Vie
“This rare collection offers seven moving novellas, snapshots of a country where nothing normal ever leaks out . . . A far cry from the grandiloquent, ridiculous images that are thrown out by the Kim Jong-Un regime, The Accusation offers the opportunity to discover a moving portrait of a secret country, a forgotten land where humanity only asks to try to triumph.”—Lire
“No one could imagine that it could be at all comical to live in a dictatorship, but in describing the limitless absurdity of the system, Bandi sometimes makes the reader give out a nervous laugh . . . A fragile hint of light in a country that confuses democracy with obscurantism.”—L’Alsace
“Each of these stories shows a different aspect of the remorseless dictatorship . . . With a fierce sense of irony and a deeply dark humor, Bandi denounces totalitarianism, the divisions in North Korean society, and the absurdity and corruption of the one party system.”—La Grande Parade
“Stories written with a great humanity, the work of a true writer.”—Lecturama.fr
“The appearance of this collection of seven novellas is a true publishing event.”—Livres Hebdo
Notă biografică
"Bandi", which means "firefly" in Korean, is a pseudonym for a writer who is still living in his homeland of North Korea, and who wrote these stories in secret. The Accusation is his only published book to date.