The 77 year old peripatetic former Monty Python star provides readers with a narrative of his experiences and commentary on his 2018 two week tour of North Korea in this engaging illustrated read.
His usual wry humour is well preserved and he dryly notes the many inconsistencies in the propaganda and paranoia of the Kim dictatorship, but he also shatters the common western image of an oppressed populace yearning for freedom. He befriends some of the ‘handlers’ of his film crew, and comes to accept that most of the common people are deceived but sincerely devoted to the Great Leaders, who are worshipped as gods in the officially atheistic country.
Accepting that his itinerary and even his speech is severely restricted, he nevertheless errs on a few occasions going off script inadvertently, such as when snapping a photograph of one of the ubiquitous statues of a Great Leader from behind.
Sir Michael, never one to miss an opportunity to mock politicians of any and all stripes, seems to imply that the commoners of North Korea need our understanding, empathy, and exposure to the outside world, (and freedom), not condemnation, an admonition worth taking seriously-by everyone everywhere
A very good educational light read that can be finished before noon.
Thanks, Vera
The Passionate Reader 