I haven’t read fiction in a while, recently I’ve been really focused on building up myself both mentally and skill wise, so I’ve been reading a lot of non-fiction. However, I recently looked through my saved list on Sribd and noticed that I saved Princess Bari months ago and perhaps it was finally time to read it.
So, first things to note, I love books set in Asia and written by Asian authors. I have read books by Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean authors, but I haven't read many books set in North Korea or told from a North Korean Perspective. So Princess Bari was in many ways a first for me.
Let’s get right into the summary and Review! Princess Bari tells the story of Bari, who is named after a mythical Princess Bari of which she shares many similarities. Bari is born into a well-respected middle class North Korean family and is the 7th daughter of her family which is seen as a negative by her parents. In fact, when Bari is born, she is thrown out by her mother but gets rescued by the family dog and her grandmother. Asides from this, Bari’s family seems largely like a regular family, and she grows up spending time with her grandmother and sisters. Unfortunately, things quickly deteriorate in North Korea and Bari’s family is caught in the middle of it all, they go from being average to pretty much losing everything. In a way this is when Bari’s story really begins, and we get to experience the difficulties she faces as she goes through life. Her story is also one of strength, healing, resilience, family/connections, and mysticism – as the story unfolds, we learn that Bari comes from a line of Shamans and has also inherited the gift of sight which she uses in her job later in life.
Now let me give some warnings ahead of time, parts of Bari’s story will crush you!! You’ll feel her pain on so many levels and will probably ask yourself why people must suffer so much. Bari goes through so much struggle and finally emigrates illegally to London where she begins a new life and connects which a range of people who are also going through life and experiencing the struggles of immigrants trying to survive in a country that rejects them, their cultures, and way of being (I was pleasantly surprised to see a Nigerian family make their way into the story!).
One thing that really struck me as I read the book was Bari’s dilemma about what she could do with her gifts and how she was supposed to respond to the questions constantly being asked of her by the ghosts she communicated with as a result of her gift. “Why do we suffer?” is one of the major questions she receives, and she tries to find the answer for herself. At a point she realizes that “life means waiting, enduring the passage of time. Nothing ever quite meets our expectations, yet as long as we are alive, time flows on, and everything eventually comes to pass.”
Overall, I would say this was a fantastic read and I really enjoyed it. It gave me a fresh perspective to life in North Korea and the struggles of immigrants trying to fit into a new life and just survive. I definitely would recommend Princess Bari to everyone, particularly those who love stories set in Asia, and are interested in non-conventional stories.
Have you read Princess Bari or other stories set in North Korea? Please share your thoughts about this book, and any recommendations you might have.
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