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Brother's Keeper Book Review

Jun 13

3 min read

2

28

Brother’s Keeper is a historical fiction novel written by Julie Lee. Although this is her debut novel, it is a stunning read with action-packed scenes taking place in an atmosphere of paranoia and fear. 


The book details the story of 12-year old Sora Pak, who is living in North Korea. On June 25th, 1950, North Korea attempted to invade South Korea and the Korean War began. Sora’s family, the Paks, are good friends with the Kim family, who take the war as an opportunity to escape North Korea by fleeing to Busan. The Paks soon follow suit, but Sora gets separated from her parents and has to bring her younger brother, Youngsoo, to South Korea herself. 


Throughout the story, the duo have to deal with the cold, starvation, fatigue, and the threat of being found or killed. Sora endures additional oppression just for being a girl, with society’s traditional male chauvinism clearly at work against her. She is often the second choice, which could be seen throughout the story.  The pair will encounter many traumatic experiences that culminate in an action-packed climax. 


Brother’s Keeper features many deep themes, such as family love and the desire to be free. Sora is a bright student who was pulled from school on her twelfth birthday, assigned to take care of her brothers. Throughout the story, Sora’s mother is constantly reprimanding her for poor performance at chores associated traditionally with women (eg: cooking, taking care of her baby brother Jisoo). At the same time, her mother displays clear favoritism for Youngsoo and Jisoo. At the end of the story, Sora’s mother allows her to attend school in South Korea, while Sora promises to help around the house more. 


The desire to be free is rather evident in this work, largely because North Korea is full of oppression. Many common activities or practices are banned, such as being a Christian or bad-mouthing the government. Denizens are required to perform actions to express their loyalty to North Korea, such as hanging up pictures of the leader every day. Communist party meetings disseminate propaganda and inspire hatred of Americans; the fear of having neighbours giving away forbidden practices is terrifying. 


Sadly, most of the regulations seen in the story are practiced in not only North Korea since its inception, but also in the modern day. Although the conditions are better for citizens than for Sora, many North Korean citizens are forced to experience these oppressions every day with no access to the outside world, all while being fed propaganda against the Western world.


Although some North Korean citizens want to be free, it is now much more difficult for citizens to flee from the country than when Sora escaped. This is because the borders are heavily guarded, with perilous routes. If North Korean defectors were to escape to China, the Chinese police can send the person back to North Korea, where extreme punishment can occur. If a North Korean defector would escape, their family would be punished, and they would be executed or eventually die of starvation or overworking.


I highly recommend this story, with its heartwarming sections, emotion-inducing memories, and enthralling, heart-racing scenes. In fact, I have read this book more than a dozen times in the past month, highlighting how captivating the scenes are. The book not only follows the story of Sora, but it also shows how restricted, paranoid, and helpless North Korean citizens feel on a daily basis. The only negative point I would say about this story is that this is unfortunately not a story for people who like good endings.

Jun 13

3 min read

2

28

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