Welcome to Litsy!

Continuing my quest into North Korea which always has hovered in the periphery of my mind in regard to world politics. I do appreciate a graphic novel memoir but Delisle seems a bit sarcastic and for lack of a better word, rude, about the culture.

One of my favourite graphic novels. I read it years ago and now I decided to buy it. I really like Delisle‘s way of depicting everyday stories in unique and interesting places. Already thinking of adding to my collection more of his books that I also liked.

Oh that was a slog. I guess you could read this if you don‘t know anything about North Korea, but the author is so incredibly dense that I could barely finish. It took him forever to realize that the people around him were hungry and at the mercy of their leaders. He just came off as a real a-hole.

Hmm, this seems like a heavy-handed opening but I‘m curious to see what this is like.

I felt it mildly disrespectful of the people who are subjugated there, but at the end of the day: True.

This was my choice for October book club! I wanted to introduce some of them to graphic novels and chose 3 non-fiction graphic novels for the club to choose from. I‘m glad they chose this one. It‘s interesting to get an inside look at life in North Korea. I have a few other books about NK I‘d like to read; like Cuba the lifestyle intrigues me and I want to learn more. I‘m so curious to hear the reviews about this on Friday.

#groupl #lmbpc Here are some options! I haven‘t read Cosmicomics, but I usually love Calvino (Italian). That‘s a short story collection. Kitchen and Volcano are novels translated from Japanese. Kitchen is more contemporary and Volcano is more philosophical. Pyongyang is a graphic memoir translated from French about an artist working in North Korea. I‘ve tagged them all!

Guy Delisle shares in this book his experience in North Korea. It's from 2003, but I think it's still a relevant book, which is very interesting to read.
To which extent are North Koreans isolated and cut from the rest of the world? To which extent does their brainwashing work? These are the questions now in my mind... Now I want to read more about North Korea, particularly about its inhabitants!

This is a fun graphic novel about Delisle‘s trip to an animation studio in North Korea.

#ReadingResolutions Day 24: I read this graphic travelogue a few weeks back and am scheduled to post a full review soon. There is clear and present #Power established here given such a regime, but there is also #Power exercised by a White man filled with judgments and prejudice in the way he viewed and portrayed the people in this city. More in my upcoming review.

Sunday lunch earlier (baked cheesy mussels with a dash of spice) and broccoli/cauliflower. Paired with Delisle‘s Pyongyang. I adored his Jerusalem, so definitely looking forward to this one.

#EmojiMadness Day 4: My #LitWorld2018GB (literary voyage around the world) or 🛄 has brought me to New York (supposedly a bastion of freedom) and North Korea (its antithesis). This is bound to be an interesting contrast.

I enjoyed Delisle‘s use of humour and light-heartedness at describing an animation gig that must have been stressful and lonely. His style of graphic memoir is very engaging, showing Pyongyang from a French-Canadian perspective—at least what he was able to see of it.

#comicsread2018 #comicbookclub

Pyongyang satisfies two #ReadHarder challenges
✔️comic written + illustrated by same person
✔️comic not published by Marvel/DC/Image

Delisle recounts his animation gig in North Korea and its as Orwellian as you‘d expect. The book was first published in 2005 but I imagine not much has changed about the country in the last 13 years.

Yay they‘re finally here! I‘ve been waiting impatiently for this parcel of books ^_^ #comicbookclub2018

I adore this book! Everything it does is understated to perfection. The humour is subtle and surreal whilst so much else is quietly poignant. Delisle understands he doesn't require a commentary, just to present the strangeness of life and let us see for ourselves.

This would make a fantastic double bill with Dom Jolly's "the dark tourist".

Uma graphic novel muito interessante! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Guy Delisle is my go-to graphic novel author. He is exploring and showing cultures and customs of troubled countries through drawing. This book is about his two months staying in North Korea. His was fed up with propaganda and left the country with no regrets.

Obviously biased and not entirely factually accurate, but a poignant and funny account of living in NK, and an enjoyable read everyone should check out.

I was a bit wary, but this graphic novel, detailing the author's two months working in a North Korean animation studio, is pretty great. Not the most informative book on the subject, but a good account of how strange it is to visit.

We've got some great animators at this studio. The best one was Kim Sun-Yok...

Who is he? Is he on one of our teams?

No.

What production is he working on?

He isn't here anymore...

Huh? Are there other studios in North Korea?

No, none.

Oh, I see. He went abroad.

Not at all.

So where is this super animator? He didn't just disappear. Did he?

'Vaporised' is what Orwell calls those who are gone and best forgotten.

Some days the postman is my favourite person in the world 🚲📦🌎 Yay for weekend reading!

I've now read three of Guy Delisle's four graphic memoirs of his time spent abroad. While I feel that Jerusalem has been the best so far, this was also fascinating as it covers his time spent working as an animator in North Korea during the Kim Jong-Il era, prior to some of the more recent "opening" that has occurred there. The oddness of the sanitized city and the people that live under the regime is highlighted in Delisle's vignettes.

#favegraphicnovel for #booktober:
I honestly have a bunch, but let me recommend this one. A true account inside North Korea-- in visual form. Funny, eye opening, and sad all in one. If you liked Without You there is No Us, try this.

In Lille, France for the next few days. Lots of bookstores, and a BD festival. I'll try to get pics of the book market too. Yay!!!

First book down in #24in48 and dents made in others! #readathon #graphicnovel

Really interesting quote.

A new graphic novel for my collection.

Trying to describe Aphex Twin to the security at Pyongyang airport. 😊