De sterren tussen zon en maan

by Lucia Jang, Susan McCelland

Lucia Jang (Sunhwa) werd in de jaren zeventig in een doorsnee Noord-Koreaans gezin geboren. Elke avond stofte Sunwha het portret van Kim Il-sung af, waarna zij en haar zusje bogen voor het portret en 'Dank u Vader' zeiden.
In deze gesloten staat breekt een onzekere tijd aan als in 1994 de Grote Leider sterft en zijn zoon Kim Jung-il aan de macht komt. Een verschrikkelijke hongersnood kostte vervolgens meer dan een half miljoen mensen het leven. Om te overleven begint ze met smokkelen, wat het begin is van een zwerftocht op zoek naar overleving die pas eindigt als ze met haar tweede baby voor de laatste maal vlucht.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, History, Biography, Asia, Biography Memoir, Audiobook

304 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 2014

About the author

Lucia Jang is a refugee from North Korea who lives in Toronto.

Reviews

[a_reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm completely devastated after reading this memoir about life inside North Korea. Lucia Jang's story is so dire and horrifying that I almost wish she fabricated some of it so I can continue to believe that life cannot be so cruel. She was born to a poor family in the countryside that would be forever scorned because her grandfather and uncle defected to South Korea. She will have no ability to join the Party and would only be a manual laborer for life. Times were tough until the Arduous March (famine) when her life became a nightmare just to survive. Her descriptions of how people were literally wasting away and starving to death resonated strongly with me. What was most interesting was how she smuggled into China to trade for food to feed her family back home, and how she was sold into marriage and mistreated by the Chinese for simply being from Chosun. Reading this put a human face to the tragedy of North Korea, and is a story that will stick with me for some time.

[Mme Forte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no idea how this woman survived everything she did, nor how she could bear to relive it to write this memoir. Circumstances created by the system of government in North Korea render most people's lives, if they were related like a biography, a litany of human rights violations. Starvation, inhuman conditions when imprisoned for daring to escape the regime, forced abortions for women "enemies of the state" who are pregnant when arrested, constant indoctrination and enforced reverence for the late Dear Leader and his son the General...any one of these could kill or break the spirit of any citizen. Lucia Jang's story is a testament to her courage and indomitable will. Here's hoping that the regime can be brought down and its long-suffering subjects saved.

[Friar Stebin John Capuchin · Rating 5 out of 5]

We all know about South Korea. Many of my young friends love Korean film stars very much. They imitate their dress code, the way of behaviour, some of them even speak Korean. But, what about North Korea, O! No, we know very little about it. It’s really, really secret. All the secrets of North Korea are protected under the governance of the so-called eternal father, Kim. A terrific monarch on earth. The world is developing so fast, and leakages will be there, and I have some leakage. It is nothing but a book, by the name, Stars between the Sun and Moon. An extraordinary memoir of a North Korean woman who defied the government to keep her family alive.
This book is all about poverty, really a tragic story. I was having sleepless nights while I was reading this book. Every night North Korean people were coming and haunting me—cover to cover an excellent presentation. Lucia Jang’s story is really an inspiring one. This book will give courage to everyone who is living without any hope.
Full Review Read from my Website
https://www.capfriar.co.in/2021/01/st...

[Raymond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another sad but true story of a North Korean defector. This time a story told from a poor single mother who was not just imprisoned once but twice for attempting to defect. Ms. Jung story focused more on her journey to freedom then the stories of what happens after obtaining freedom. I find these defection stories very heartbreaking to read but at the same time incredibly fascinating… This book is a strong recommend.

[Michaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nechápem, ako to dokázala prežiť. Aj s dieťaťom! Toľkokrát utiekla a toľkokrát ju chytili. Útek zo Severnej Kórei sa nepodarí len tak. Opustiť rodinu je najťažšie. Lenže keď máte štátom (aj susedmi) kontrolovaný život, istý nemenmý sociálny status, (to kastovníctvo je príšerné), z ktorého sa nemáš šancu vymaniť niekoľko generácií len preto, že tvoj strýko emigroval. Veľmi mi to pripomínalo aj naše dejiny pred r. 1989.
Každou knihou od utečencov sa dozvedám nové informácie... napr. o hlade (ten bol súčasťou ich života oveľa skôr, ako prišiel hladomor v devädesiatych rokoch). Akýmkoľvek spôsobom sa dá, idú ďalej, snažia sa prežiť, vyrobiť niečo, vypestovať, vymeniť, predať. Ak nie u nich, tak za hranicami, v Číne. Aj keď im pri prechádzaní hraníc ide o život. O potláčaní ľudských práv. Obchodovanie s ľuďmi a novodobé otroctvo. Aj keď chvíľami to vyzeralo ideálne; keď našla v Číne miesto v istej rodine, kde ju síce brali ako lacnú pracovnú silu, ale takto mohla podporovať na diaľku svojich rodičov, no nezákonné spolužitie ju pred väzením neochránilo. A to boli otrasné podmienky... A predsa sa nevzdať a rozhodla sa ďalej ísť. Dôverovať a dúfať v lepší život. Som rada, že sa to autorke podarilo. A že o svojich skúsenostiach hovorí.

[Ming Wei · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writer produces a very powerful, very emotional, story that is embedded in a hardship life style, excellent writing skills, nice book cover, the story speed is consistant throughout, never gets dull, I could see this book making a very successful movie, I remember watching a movie many years ago called the crossing (might have a different name in different parts of the world), and this book made me think of that movie. An exceptional read, can be upsetting in parts, the poor life conditions that some people are unfortunate to have thrust upon them. I would read this book, if you every come across it in a shop, market, pick it up and read it, really good.

[Stephen Rowland · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd probably think more of it if I had not already read so many other tales of DPRK defectors. This is probably the least interesting of the bunch, and all the whining about her child gets tiresome. Still, the subject continues to fascinate me and I could barely put the book down, mediocre as it is in retrospect.

[Mandi Mclarney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me in awe and simultaneously in terror and heartbreak over the way humans have been and are still being treated. This woman and her bravery are inspiring. A must read if you need some perspective and a reason (or a few) to be thankful to live where (and how) we do.

[Cav · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to say that this was a good book, and that I enjoyed it. It is good, in the sense that it was very well-written, edited, translated, and produced. And I did get a lot from the writing here, but it's not really an enjoyable book, per se.
The authors:
Stars Between the Sun and Moon is a gritty, hard read. The story of this woman's struggle living in - and trying to escape from -one of the world's worst countries is worse than can be imagined...
Much of the writing here will most likely shock comfortable westerners, most of whom have never missed a meal in their lives.
Her story is an incredible account of the triumph of the human spirit; to keep going on hope alone, despite all odds.
The book reads like a dystopian tale, conjured by a twisted mind in a hellish landscape.
The sad reality is that this is what life looks like for untold millions living in The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). You couldn't possibly cram more irony into the name of a country if you tried...

Although the stories in these pages are very hard to read, they are important. Everyone should read this book, to understand how bad things can get, when an untenable ideology meets a tyrannical ruler.
I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested.
5 stars.

[Elyse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Powerful story

It’s hard to rate a book like this. The amount of horrors this women goes through is unbelievable. It is unimaginable how she truly survived all that she has been through. That being said, I feel like this book isn’t that well written. I feel like the story would have been much more powerful if it was told in more complete stories and in more detail. Often times, especially at the end of the book where I felt like She skipped so much about the journey into South Korea. I felt like the end came abruptly and didn’t allow for closure of the book. Three stars for the writing but a five star story.

[Cláuꕤdia · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I finish this book, my heart is crying and bleeding at the same time. It’s hard to think that this isn’t fiction but someone’s life story. Definitely the best book I read this year ❤️

“I hope that this story can serve as a record of, and a tribute to, the untold stories of numerous North Koreans who have attempted and continue to attempt escape to freedom, so that their lives and struggles do not go uncounted. Even when there seems little that we can do, recognizing their struggle and their right to life is a positive first step.” - Nam Soohyun

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's depressing to think that memoirs of North Korea were a trend ten years ago. Who are we to let the world's worst dictatorship pass us by in the same way that we're less interested in vampire fiction nowadays? That said, the terror of an average North Korean childhood is constant from life to life and memoir to memoir.

Lucia Jang is born into a difficult family. Her mother had uncles flee to Japan right after the war so her mother is politically suspect and cannot join the Party, and her father was out of choices when he married her. Ms. Jang and her parents are living in her paternal grandparents' house so her mother-in-law is constantly berating Ms. Jang's mother for not being good enough to marry her son. And there's not enough food. Ms. Jang was born in '78, so the famine begins when she is in her twenties; there’s just a general lack of food in her life. Finally, her parents move away to a new house, and toddler Lucia is all alone except for her one toy that is a piece of string. She nearly melts when her father buys her a box of crayons. And then she gets a baby sister. When her baby sister is old enough to toddle, her mother has to go back to work and the children are locked inside the house with no food all day, because that is the only option. Eventually, they learn to break out and steal the neighbor's food, which gets them in incredible amounts of trouble. Finally, Lucia's parents figure out that the little sister can go to work with her mom, who is a kindergarten teacher, and Lucia can go to work with her dad, who is an engineer, as long as she sits still all day. It takes Lucia ages to be old enough to go to school, and she loves it, but by the time she's a teenager, she's putting more work into friends and sneaking into the movie theater than grades and books, and her grades are too low, on graduation, to become a kindergarten teacher, the only kind of teacher a woman can be when their great uncles fled to Japan after the war. So she becomes a factory worker at a remote dam site. Her parents warn her to avoid the construction workmen, but she falls in love with a boy who eventually rapes her and then agrees to marry her for her dowry when she becomes pregnant. This marriage is bad, is an incredible understatement, and Lucia runs to her family as society begins to break down after the collapse of the Soviet Union. There's no food. Her mother understands how hard it will be to raise a baby as a divorced woman and makes an arrangement to sell the baby to a Party couple. Lucia is supposed to be diverted on an outing while the couple are taking the baby away, but she realizes that something's up and runs home in time to see them leaving with her baby and beg for mercy, which doesn't work. And there's a famine. Lucia's mom finds her a job now that she doesn't have a baby to take care of, but when the factories stop supplying rice to their workers, people stop going to work, and Lucia is working many schemes to help her family find food, including selling to the Chinese on the other side of the border. She begs for help from the ethnic-Korean Chinese man who lives in a house she's been shown, and he offers to help by driving her to a city, where she is shown to prospective husbands. In the end, she is sold for $300 Canadian to a developmentally disabled man who can't consummate the marriage, thank God, she can't speak to anyone in her husband's Chinese-speaking family, she's locked in, is the only one who cleans, and her life is intolerable. She eventually runs, and meets an ethnically Korean woman on a train, whose widowed brother needs a wife. This is a good opportunity, and her life on the farm is tolerable, until she's arrested by the Chinese, who are doing a sting on illegal North Korean wives close to the border, and now she's in a North Korean prison, during the famine, which is more harrowing than anything else so far.

A great book by a woman who suffered far too much and is now in Canada, telling her story.

[LibraryCin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

The author grew up in North Korea but soon learned she wanted out. She went through abusive relationships, two children (one who was sold, not by her choice), landed in jail more than once, went back and forth between China, and more. Eventually, she got out for good and made her way to Canada.

I listened to the audio. Unfortunately, that meant it was a while before I got interested. And it was interesting (and awful for her) once it was holding my attention, but I’d already missed a bunch of what was going on by that point, and I continued to lose focus at times. You could say there were some technical issues with the audio that didn’t help, but it’s hard to say if that would have made a difference in the rating or not. I actually thought I caught more than I did, but in reading some of the other reviews, I guess I missed more than I thought, even.

[Don Best · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think we have come far in the last 50 years as an open, global community. Equal rights, dignity, opportunity on a macro scale. Yes, despite wars, conflicts and terrorism that roil the world on a larger scale. I think we have made advances. But, there are exceptions and this book takes us to one of the nations that continues to make headlines for all the wrong reasons. North Korea. Lucia Jang provides a personal and detailed description of growing up as a citizen under the closed, draconian, nationalist government of North Korea and as a woman trapped by the stigmatism of being a female, even worse...an independently minded one, in a society that values males more and in many cases treats females as property. This in a country that recently claims to have tested a hydrogen bomb ( never mind the old-fashioned atomic bomb for those are so passé in it's claim to join the world of respected nations ). What makes this story unique is not just the author's experiences but the context of her and countless others living in a nation like North Korea that still exists in today's marketplace, global enterprise. While North Korea is not alone in abuses of human rights, it remains an island of exceptional pursuit of a one-man state. This book is a reminder there is still more to be done, much more in some cases, to become a global open society ( and I realize it is a fine line between imposing American values on other nations, but I still believe in the pursuit of democracy and opportunity and we should pursue that with our policies ). Co-authored by Susan McClelland the narrative is well written, organized and easily takes you into Jang's life not only from the perspective of living in North Korea but also as a child, adolescent and young woman. It is a tribute to Jang's determination, luck and escape to freedom.

[Thomas Radigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A female defector from North Korea tells of her life from childhood to her final emigration to Mongolia, and then to South Korean and afterward Canada. She tells of how she and her parents and siblings had struggled to feed themselves while literally worshipping the "Great Father Kim il-Sung", the infighting within her family, the superstitions, bigotry, and secondary status of women in the supposedly egalitarian and secular society, and how she misplaced trust in supposedly good people, but also admitting her own stupidities and mistakes as well.

Not only is her own faith in North Korea's social mores slowly chipped away, but her relatives' as well, though she is the only one to leave the country for good, with the tacit blessing of her surviving family. Never entirely sure who to trust, but often with little or no choice, she manages to escape into hopefully a better life. The ending may be happy, but the rest of the story is definitely not.

[Bree Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire read. The end of each chapter left me curious and anxious to learn what was going to happen next or how something was going to pan out.

This is a story of survival from beginning to end and a glimpse into what some have to do in the pursuit of freedom. This story is going to stay with me for a LONG time and at any moment that I doubt myself, will be a reminder that someone out there is having chase and hideout for the things that I have. Absolutely recommend!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another tragic memoir by a defector of North Korea. Depressing how similar each author's experiences are, especially knowing that these authors were the lucky ones who managed to escape and write their stories, while many, many others' stories will never be told. Each memoir I read brings about new and startling insight into this mysterious and isolated regime, and this one was no different. Poignant and heartbreaking, well written and worth the read.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t put this book down. The author weaves history and humanity into a story about the little known fate of the North Korean people after the Korean War.
An absolute must read for historical fiction lovers.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read many, many books about escapes from North Korea, and I'm still fascinated by the country, and devastated by all the suffering that goes on there, and the almost impossibility of escape.

This book tells the story so eloquently, not just of the hardships, but the disillusionment that happened from childhood optimism, to the famine and on to the point where there was only one choice left, and that was to risk everything and leave everyone.

The only complaint I had was I wanted the story after, of getting to South Korea and Canada, and the adjustment to a more western way of life and the difficulties that entailed as well. It just ended abruptly, escape and then "the end". Otherwise, though, this was an amazing story, and one I'd definitely reccomend if you're interested in the subject.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to imagine the difficult life under North Korean dictatorship in the latter 20th century, but Lucia Jang paints with her words a vivid picture of survival against all apparent odds. That such evil, fear and physical horrors exist in the name of loyalty to one's country and leader is unthinkable. The author, loyal to the regime growing up, marries an abusive and domineering man and has her young son sold by her own parents. She then finds herself in the unwanted position of family breadwinner, fending off starvation of the 1990's famine by any means possible. She is arrested for smuggling and trading goods with China, imprisoned and later sold to a Chinese man in hopes that he might help support her family. Life in China is little better than North Korea, however, as she is seen as an unwanted illegal worker rather than a refugee. Arrested again on a separate charge, the abuse and horror continues, but she is eventually freed on Liberation Day, "through the generosity of our esteemed general." Knowing there was no future for her and her unborn second son in either North Korea or China, Jang, with the consent of her parents, decided to leave for good. She managed to flee to South Korea and eventually Mongolia with the aid of many others. The author now lives in Canada.

This an emotion-filled memoir which left me wondering how can a person go through all Jang endured and live to tell the story. Jang does this over and over again, now speaking out against sex trafficking and human rights violations with the goal of raising awareness and compassion for those left behind in North Korea.

[Danica is Booked]

I’ve read a lot of memoirs like this one. Each one is a difficult read. Such atrocities. I often don’t rate memoirs like this one. I won’t hear. I appreciate people who are willing to to share their stories with us.

[Melissa Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is harrowing and well written. A listened to this in big chunks of time and never got bored or disinterested. It’s similar to reading a holocaust narrative, so be emotionally prepared for that. I learned a lot from the book and I always love that.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellently written and well told story. No usually a huge fan of non-fiction and I couldn't put it down.

[Maren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so fascinated by these memoirs, not only by the horrors of North Korea but the strength and determination of those who escape.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

War ok: die Story wurde auf eine erschreckende Art nüchtern erzählt. Die Übersetzung übernimmt die koreanische Erzählart sehr gut. Kein einfacher read, aber trotzdem ein wertvoller.

[Ellen Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly harrowing; I don’t know how the author survived everything she’s been through. I’m so interested in North Korean defectors’ stories, but they’re always heartbreaking.

[Jensen]

Absolutely heartbreaking. Her determination to live after what she experienced is unfathomable. I wish there had been more about her current life in Canada and her brief experience in South Korea.

[PurpleTeapot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even ONE event from this woman’s life would’ve been enough to merit writing a memoir. I’m in shock and awe, feeling a renewed appreciation at the comparatively completely safe, free, and happy life I’ve led.

[Vontel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book/life story of a woman who finally escaped from North Korea, ultimately to Canada, after a number of attempts and incredible odds, with first person accounts of the difficult life, her very gradual awakening to the possibility that the society built around fealty to the Kim's doctrines might not be based on facts, as well as the harshness and challenges of the society, including any food security. It is well written, translated during a year's conversations with the co-author. While on the surface it is easily read, it is presents the incredible odds and the particular vulnerabilities of, and cruelty to, women in these situations. She was torn between leaving her parents and siblings and including a first son who was given/sold to another family somewhere in the country, and the need to survive.

This book is a complement to/counterpoint to some of the recent books which are men's stories from North Korea, one an escapee from an entire life in a brutal prison camp, and one an escapee from the privileged life of the 'cadre', one of the core of the Kim elite tasked to promote the superiority of North Korea outside the country.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in just 2 days because it was so engrossing, right from the first paragraph. Last month I read my favourite book of the year, "The Orphan Master's Son" by Adam Johnson and it really peaked my interest in North Korea. Johnson did a lot of research before writing his novel and even though it is a work of fiction it is based on fact (as good fiction often is). I wanted to read more about this country and the people who have actually lived there. There are quite a few memoirs from defectors out there. Lucia Jang now lives in Canada and this is her story about surviving the harrowing years of famine (the 1990's) and how she tried to help her family by selling herself in China and how she survived being imprisoned several times. Eventually she flees her home country with her infant son. I felt hungry and guilty while reading this memoir, how Jang and her family survived on weeds she could collect in the forest - literally thousands of people starved to death in this period. If you want to know what it is like to live in North Korea, I highly recommend this memoir.