In this graphic novel, Guy Delisle recounts the two months he spent stationed in North Korea for an animation company that was outsourcing production. He smuggles in a copy of “1984” and hangs out with the few dozen other foreigners, who are all quartered in their hotels in the capital. Totally fascinating.

THE LOWDOWN
Published: 2005, 176 pp.
Obtained via: Kevin
Date started: 9.11.07
Date finished: 9.14.07
What I liked: I love the recounts of his trips outside the city, and when he eludes his guide and translator, who serve as cheerleaders for the regime as well as doing interference so Mister Guy can’t see anything the government doesn’t want him to see.
What I didn’t like: Nothing comes to mind.
What I learned: North Koreans do a lot of “volunteering.” Walking backwards is a traditional form of exercise. There’s no electricity at night, except for foreigners being put up in the hotels. Many North Koreans aren’t aware Kim Jong Il has children, let alone that one of them tried to escape to visit Tokyo Disneyland and got caught on a bad passport.