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D.B. John

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D. B. JOHN was born in Wales. He began training as a lawyer but switched to a career in publishing, editing popular children's books on history and science. In 2009 he moved to Berlin, Germany, to write his first novel, Flight from Berlin. A visit to North Korea in 2012 inspired Star of the North. In 2015 he co-authored the New York Times bestselling memoir The Girl With Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee. He lives in Angel, London.
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Average rating: 4.17 · 9,514 ratings · 1,333 reviews · 4 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Girl With Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee (Goodreads Author), David John, D.B. John (Goodreads Author) 4.43 avg rating — 103,688 ratings — published 2014 — 63 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Star of the North 4.20 avg rating — 8,437 ratings — published 2018 — 58 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Flight From Berlin by David John, D.B. John (Goodreads Author) 3.72 avg rating — 795 ratings — published 2012 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Red Star Down 4.55 avg rating — 337 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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The Sisters Mao

by Gavin McCrea

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D.B. John said: " I was drawn to this book because I’d been so impressed by the author’s ‘Cells’, which is one of the finest memoirs I’ve read, perhaps because I saw so much of my own life reflected in his.

What to make of this long, ambitious novel?

Unpacking it is no I was drawn to this book because I’d been so impressed by the author’s ‘Cells’, which is one of the finest memoirs I’ve read, perhaps because I saw so much of my own life reflected in his.

What to make of this long, ambitious novel?

Unpacking it is not easy, because there’s so much happening on different levels, thematically, morally, historically, emotionally, and ontologically. It’s deeply clever, and requires a close read, with the mind’s eye scoping the psychological depths. Much of it will resonate with anyone who ever felt overshadowed by a parent or a sibling, or who once held some harmful ideological belief that made them act against their own nature. The LSD-tripping scenes even make us question the nature of reality, and there is a hallucinatory feel to the story throughout.

It comprises two parallel stories that never directly connect, but which mirror and inform the other. Both stories concern the turbulent dynamics between three women. In one, socialism is still a dream to be struggled for; the other shows a wholly different perspective: the reality of life after a socialism.

The first is that of two privileged English girls trying to change the world through a series of theatre ‘happenings’ in 1968, which culminate in a full-on Maoist struggle session with their own mother, who had raised them on socialism before abandoning her beliefs in pursuit of a successful career as a West End actress. The other, set in Beijing six years later, very skilfully portrays the cruel charisma of Xiang Qing (wife of Mao), her relationship with her long-suffering daughter, and their interaction with – of all people – Imelda Marcos, the first lady of the Philippines, who is in China to attend one of Xiang Qing’s revolutionary ballets. Yes, these two women (compare and contrast please) did indeed meet in 1974. And the encounter is utterly intriguing. The prickly, acid-tonged Xiang Qing, whose revolutionary purity is cover for her sadism and lust for power, actually did hit it off with Imelda Marcos, the powdered, bejewelled epitome of avarice and corrupt capitalism. Game recognised game. They “saw” each other.

I love novels that spin a story around real events and real people, and this is the first time I’ve read a novel that brings Xiang Qing to life. The stakes are high: Mao is drooling and dying. Xiang Qing is on the cusp of absolute power. But a seemingly minor incident during Mrs. Marcos’s visit is seized upon by Xiang Qing’s enemies and we are given a premonition of her downfall. This parallel story was completely real for me and convinced me totally.

More so than the London part of the story, over which the author has taken equal care. I’m not sure why I felt this. In his effort to paint a full psychological picture of the sisters and their world, the novel’s forward engine seems to cut out occasionally. Some scenes were too long in proportion to how far they advanced the story. The LSD trips, brilliantly described, were too realistic for comfort. But no author is worth their salt if they can’t unsettle the reader.

That said, the quality of the writing and the novel’s brilliant insights put this author up there with the very best writing today. If he wins the Booker Prize, I won’t be surprised. ...more "

May 05, 2026 07:10AM · see review

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I was drawn to this book because I’d been so impressed by the author’s ‘Cells’, which is one of the finest memoirs I’ve read, perhaps because I saw so much of my own life reflected in his. What to make of this long, ambitious novel? Unpacking it is no ...more
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D.B. John liked Olga's review of Almost Life: " This broke something in me. In the best, most delicious way. I don’t say this lightly, but this is one of those rare, undeniable five-star reads. The kind you finish and just sit there for a while, slightly undone, wondering how a book managed to " Read more of this review »
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D.B. John rated a book it was amazing Red Star Down by D.B. John (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Perhaps fiction was the only effective tool for unpicking the persona of Albert Speer, the enigmatic, odd-one-out among the Nazi high-ups. Speer, in the author's telling is so difficult to unpack because his memoirs are such a dazzling work of auto f ...more
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D.B. John rated a book it was amazing The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World by Jonathan Freedland	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Superb. The best illustration of how history can be written as an electrifying thriller. This is no tasteless remark. The story told here needs to be read by the widest audience possible and the author has done utmost to ensure that it is. Rudolf Vrb ...more
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Quotes by D.B. John (?)

“His hair was fine and white, and cropped very short, like a lawn after an early frost.”
― D.B. John, Star of the North

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“No matter what someone’s race, age, gender, background, or creed, all humans know what it means to feel love, bereavement, guilt, regret, and so on—the experiences that shape character.”
― D.B. John, Star of the North

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“It shows”
― D.B. John, Star of the North

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