PopCo by Scarlett Thomas

Everyone loves working at PopCo. It's a young, cool, toy company with no dress code and no set working hours. Creatives at PopCo are just as likely to stay up all night designing prototypes as they are to decamp to Prague for a week of trend spotting. It's just that sort of place.

PopCo isn't about fluffy toys though. They have an experimental Robotics division, a mirror brand, K, which pretends to be Japanese, a Virtual Worlds research center, and they're offering a million dollar prize for an old AI puzzle. 

Their latest plan is to create a 'killer' brand for teenage girls, and Alice has been relocated to a 'Thought Camp' to brainstorm the idea. But could her ideas have other applications? How sinister is marketing to children anyway? And is everything as it seems at the company's isolated 'Thought Camp'?

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Scarlett Thomas is one of my favorite author. I find her books very thought provoking and stimulating. Thomas has the ability to make the reader look at the world in a new light. Opening up your eyes to the darker side of the world, this book focuses on consumerism but especially products directly aimed at children and teens. It makes for an interesting book with a very different and interesting storyline.

The most enjoyable element to this book was the fact that it opened my mind to the dangers of product placement, advertising and how easily a person can be fooled into that 'must have' purchase. It makes me wonder do we have any free will at all or are we simply the puppets of large companies who have been trained since birth to respond to flashy advertising. 

The main character Alice was a perfect contrast to the other characters in the book. Alice was a deeper thinker, able to live outside of the social groups of her work force who functioned much the same as cliques do in schools. While above all she remained herself and didn't conform to any stereotype. The obvious social structure of Popco was intriguing, did Thomas intend for the lives of the employees to correlate with those of the audience they were targeting? Did she intentionally describe the fun, relaxed work atmosphere with employers  pushing extra curricular activities as a way of showing how they remained 'young at heart'. These answers I may never know but I have enjoyed mulling over them ever since.

Overall it is a wonderful book, I was sucked into the story from the first page. It is full of colourful and engaging characters with a superb and clever plot.  One of the most wonderful things about Scarlett Thomas is that her novels not only entertain but they educate. I have enjoyed learning so much such as science in The End of Mr Y to consumerism in Popco.  I highly recommend giving this book a try. 

I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. 
It's a terrific read from a gifted writer. You won't be disappointed if you try it especially if you enjoy books which challenge your views on our society.

Nothing to Envy - Real Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

North Korea is one of the most repressive and secretive states on earth. Spying is encouraged, the media is government controlled, Gone with the Wind is a dangerous, banned book. In the 1990s, famine descended. Millions of people died, but the regime remained in power. Through extensive interviews, Barbara Demick has created the first portrait of like in this extraordinary county, weaving together the stories of six ordinary citizens in a gripping and vivid account of adversity and survival in the land of 'Our Dear leader'. 

 

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This is the most terrifying book I have ever read. A truly shocking and unbelievable read. All I knew about North Korea before I read this book was the little I had seen on the news. I was aware that they are a communist state, were separated from South Korea due to warfare, disliked America and that they are armed with nuclear weapons.  I picked this book up out of pure nosiness, I was intrigued of what life is really like in the secretive and insular country. After reading this book I have had my eyes opened to the true danger of corrupt governments and how if left unchecked they can do anything to the people they are meant to protect and lead. 

 

The book follows the lives of six people who grew up within the country and later desserted into China and South Korea. The stories vary from those of deeply devoted individuals who later become disillussioned with the country and its direction; to people who from childhood didn't feel they fit within the strict confines, ideology and group mentality needed to survive within the regime. The Government runs the country with an iron fist, anyone who doesn't adhere to the rules is in danger of reprisals and being sent to prison. Neighbors spy on neighbors and even children on parents. Conviction is not simply punishment for the lone individual but also his/her family both immediate and extended. To make matters worse this punishment lasts for THREE generations!!! Therefore it is understandable that people work hard to appear the perfect citizen even if they have inner doubts. 

 

What strikes me most about this book is the way it paints the Government and the Kim Jong-il as totally uncaring for the suffering of their citizens. For example, in North Korea people do not shop as we do in the western world for groceries. Instead, twice a month, they would go to a distribution center where bags of food are handed out by the Government. However when the country experienced a famine the Government simply ceased handing out food altogether. They appeared to have little thought that this would lead to starvation, especially when selling ones own produce grown in home gardens was illegal. In fact they refused aid from abroad and lied to visiting officials about the state of the country. I found this heartbreaking and shocking, people were left to cook grass and tree bark in order to survive, to the point that much of the countryside became bare. The saddest part being that the most devote follows of the regime were often the first to die, due to their reluctance to break the rules and use the black market food that was illegal but life saving.

 

During all of this suffering people were still expected to adore the 'Dear Leader' and work harder and longer than ever before, but now without pay or nourishment. They were constantly lied to and made to believe that China and South Korea were suffering worse when in reality they were thriving since embracing consumerism. A bowl of rice became a luxury with many people going years without it. This was made painfully clear when one person, after crossing the border into China, witnessed a dog being fed a meal of rice and vegetables. In North Korea such a meal was beyond the reach even for humans to eat, yet there was a dog being fed such a meal. Heartbreaking and shocking in every way. these things are made all the more shocking to me when I think they happened in the 1990s. I was teenager at the time and enjoying a life where I was well fed, listened to pop music, and did school work in a warm and safe home. The realization that during this time these people suffered at the hands of their own government really opened my eyes to a different kind of evil in the world.

I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.

A life changing book. You cannot read it without being moved by the strength of human endurance during testing times and shocked by the brain washing and careless choices which negatively effected everyone within the country.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Republic of Gilead offers Offred only one option; to breed. if she deviates, she will, like all dissenters, be hanged at the wall or sent out to die slowly of radiation sickness. But even a repressive state cannot obliterate desire - neither Offred's nor that of the two men on which her future hangs. 

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The Handmaid's Tale follows the life of Offred as she begins her posting at the home of a high ranking official in Gilead. Offred is not there as a secretary, cook or cleaner; she is there to breed. The population of Gilead are struggling to produce healthy babies, in fact they are struggling to produce children at all. The position of Handmaid has been formed in order to combat this. The young and hopefully fertile Handmaids are sent to stay with high ranking men and their wives, where they take part in rituals with the aim of them becoming pregnant. Offred is one such Handmaid and this is her story. 

Offred was a fabulous character, I enjoyed her determination to remain true to herself in the face of such horrifying treatment. I liked her from the moment I met her, she came across as a dynamic and independent woman forced into a life of slavery. This created much conflict within Offred and the struggle was evident from the very first chapter. It made for excellent reading as her inner musings became more detailed and eye opening. As the story progresses the reader is made aware of how she came to be in this predicament, and how Offred is now destined to die serving her country in this way. 

I enjoyed the story and found it an addictive read. The short, straight to the point sentences make it fast pace, while the descriptive writing makes the story jump off the page. The picture perfect facade of the homes, streets and town hides a very dark and terrifying world. It leaves the reader constantly on edge in the same way Offred is, you can feel the oppression and fear seeping from the narrative. All his combines to make a book that is hard to put down but leaves the reader fearful of the events to come. 

I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

An excellent book which sends shivers down your spine. As horrifying as it is brilliant, and a story that I highly recommend.