There’s a question that has to be burning on the lips of all foreigners here, a question you refrain from asking aloud but one can’t help asking yourself: do they really believe the bullshit that’s being forced down their throats?
I think Pyongyang by Guy Delisle may have converted me into a graphic novel fan. In fact, I may now be able to call them graphic novels without snickering, which, trust me, is a breakthrough.
Pyongyang is subtitled ‘A Journey in North Korea.’ Journey might be overstating is somewhat: for the most part, Delisle is stationed in Pyongyang, where he is working for a French animation company, occasionally being escorted on day trips further afield. However, his experiences and commentary are fascinating and beautifully illustrated and, occasionally, hilarious. I think it is this humour that made the book special for me: the subject matter is far too depressing otherwise, if I hadn’t been able to laugh every few pages I probably would have abandoned it mid-way. Happily, I was hooked quite early when, immediately after arriving in Pyongyang, Delisle is reading a passage about the thought police from 1984 in his hotel bedroom and subsequently becomes somewhat paranoid about his room being tapped. This is also where I first realised the power of images over text, as the episode is conveyed without commentary.
Delisle’s experience is the same of any foreign entering a communist country. He is assigned a translator and a guide, both of whom chaperon all of his excursions outside of the sterile hotel-zone. Like all foreigners, he attempts to get his translator to admit to feeling stifled and scared by the communist regime. Like all foreigners, he fails. He is outraged by the propaganda that pervades throughout the country: his field trips are all to such inspiring sights as The Children’s Palace, the Museum of Imperialist Occupation, and the Pyongyang subway, which foreigners are only allowed to ride from one stop to the next. As Delisle notes in frustration: “there’s a banner on every building, a portrait on every wall, a pin on every chest.” Naïve to be surprised by this perhaps, but his documentation of the various forms of propaganda is fascinating nonetheless. I know so little about North Korea that any glimpse of it is fascinating and Delisle handles the little details exceedingly well – everything from the make-work projects civilians ‘volunteer’ for to the disgusting, soiled tablecloths that can be found in all restaurants.
All in all, an intriguing glimpse into a very private country and a wonderful introduction to a talented illustrator. I’m already eager to get my hands on a copy of Delisle’s The Burma Chronicles.
Good for you Claire. My son has introduced me to graphic novels. I haven’t read many but the couple I have read I have seen that there’s more to them than I thought. I should read Maus, I think. Also there’s an Australian author Shaun Tan who’s “written” a couple that have been well-reviewed.
It’s definitely interesting to try something new and to see how storytelling changes dependent on the medium!
Oops, meant to say that my son wrote a university essay on memoirs written as graphic novels. It really opened my eyes.
It took me ages to be able to say “graphic novels” without sneering, and then a while after that I decided it was sort of pretentious and swung back round to saying comics most of the time. 😛
I really want to read this! I read it about it somewhere else, and it sounds amaaaaaazing. Like visiting North Korea without actually having to, you know. Visit North Korea.
Most important thing I learned from this book? There is no earthly reason to actually visit North Korea. I’m happy to let this be as close as I get.
I have too many friends at work obsessed with ‘graphic novels’ to think that I could get away unharmed if I continued to call them comics, but I might continue to do so in my head…
[…] Life in Books A Striped Armchair The Captive Reader The […]