Focus Area – Asia; Focus Country – North Korea
Many defectors have written about the North Korean regime and how the ordinary lives within that country are different from lives as we know it (who stay in countries where people have elected governments, enjoy the freedom of speech and expression, and are free to conduct their lives with minimum state interference). A new collection of seven short stories called ‘The Accusation’ (2017), written by Bandi (a pseudonym adopted by a writer who perhaps still resides within the four walls of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s kingdom) presents a fascinating account of life in North Korea and how the people there are isolated from their own reality.
We come to learn of the author’s unique voice from the way he presents the preface. While it is deeply disturbing to be aware of the fact that he still stays in the country he writes about, the display of such tremendous courage is truly overwhelming. The stories which appear in this book have been translated beautifully by Deborah Smith (who had also translated the Man Booker International Prize winning novel by Han Kang, The Vegetarian). Each protagonist in these stories is fearful of committing a crime and this is the common thread which binds them together. The collection is a powerful book in every way possible and is an unprecedented work of fiction (or perhaps, reality?).
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