However, when that starts running out as well his father decides to risk a journey to China to get some money by selling the things they have and promises to return in a week. For a time, Sungju is unaffected by this as his parents had money saved to get them good food but as the money starts running out, he drops out of school to help his parents hunt and forage for food that they preserve. People are starving and dying every day, and many are staying to brave the dangerous crossing into China even though getting caught means imprisonment or death, but they need to do it in order to survive. Following a young boy’s perspective is a little difficult for me as I can’t connect easily with Sungju.Īs we approach the ¼ mark in the book, Sungju is beginning to see that life away from the city is difficult. After moving to the countryside Sungju is starting to see what life is like for those outside the cities and he is forced to watch a public execution of people deemed traitors by the government. It is interesting to see someone as young as Sungju picking up on the unspoken conversation between his parents. After a while, Sungju notices his father looking quite sick and eventually they leave the city for a holiday in the countryside but there is more to it than this. Looking back on it Sungju can see he was the perfect product of the Korean propaganda machine. The opening introduces us to Sungju who is a young boy in awe of his father, who is a soldier in the North Korean military and wants to be just like him. All I knew about this book before picking it up was that it is a memoir Sungju Lee and how escaped from North Korea, having a love of the Orient I couldn’t wait to get stuck into this book.

Review: As most of my readers will know I am not a fan of memoirs, but I recently read Elena Vanishing (a memoir about a teenage girl’s struggle with anorexia) and absolutely loved it, so I was excited to pick up Every Falling Star.

Every Falling Star by Sungju Lee