Bandi, a name derived from the Korean for "firefly," is a pseudonym for a writer who is still living in his homeland of North Korea. The Accusation is his only published book to date.
Deborah Smith is the Man Booker International Prize-winning translator of The Vegetarian by Han Kang and other books.
Praise for The Accusation: Winner of a PEN Translates Award
A World Literature Today Notable Translation of 2017
The Globe and Mail Best Books of the Year 2017
Longlisted for the Aspen Words Literary Prize "The stories describe
life under a locked-down totalitarian dictatorship in which
everything is controlled by the central government, including
writing and reading; in which society is riddled with spies who
report on the most trivial of aberrations; and in which the
non-elites are starved and overworked and lied to about the real
state of affairs. This book emphasizes the value of an open society
in which many voices can be heard--not just one authoritarian
voice."--Margaret Atwood, Literary Hub "[A] remarkable collection .
. . [the stories'] power is in the plain-spoken, almost artless way
they convey daily life under an ever-watchful, whimsically cruel
regime . . . This courageous book offers an important reminder that
not all dystopias are invented."--Sam Sacks, Wall Street Journal
"Searing fiction by an anonymous dissident . . . A fierce
indictment of life in the totalitarian North."--New York Times
"[The Accusation] might be the most dangerous book on the planet
right now . . . An historic milestone . . . A powerful denunciation
. . . Its very existence is still a hopeful symbol that change is
inevitable, if not imminent."--Vice "They say fact is stranger than
fiction. One book smuggled out of North Korea encapsulates both . .
. A reflection of life under North Korean rule . . . This is the
first known writer of a book, critical of North Korea, who is still
inside the country."--Paula Hancocks, CNN "The Accusation shines a
light on the dark half of the Korean peninsula with stories that
are as readable as they are important . . . If these stories are an
exorcism for the author, they are a revelation for us; The
Accusation is fiction, but it is fiction that screams truth. Like
its great literary predecessor One Day in the Life of Ivan
Denisovich, The Accusation is a powerful work that seems destined
to serve as the go-to example, and indictment, of life in the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea."--National Post "Deborah
Smith . . . vividly brings to English the taut, searing stories . .
. Each turn of the page, each moment of anger and sadness a reader
feels for Bandi's characters comes with a deeper ache. The reader
knows, horribly, that all of these things are still
happening."--Minneapolis Star Tribune "Seven short stories, each
pointing an accusing finger at the ruling regime, shine a light on
North Korea's 'truly fathomless darkness' . . . In the midst of
dashed hopes and broken dreams, the flame of hope barely flickers.
These are indeed, as the book's subtitle says, Forbidden Stories
from Inside North Korea."--"The Best Books on North Korea," The
Guardian "The seven stories paint an eye-opening portrait of life
under the brutal regime . . . The Accusation is a testament to the
resilience of the North Korean people and a proof that goodness
still exists even in the most hostile environments."--Electric
Literature "Miraculous . . . Raises the question of what it means
to be an artist of any kind in Bandi's country or in any other
totalitarian state . . . Bandi's work speaks to our irrepressible
need for self-expression and drive to create art. His writing and
characters prove magnetic; they are anything but the
one-dimensional characters of North Korean propaganda."--Zyzzyva
"Revelatory . . . Bandi, whoever he may be, has made history. He's
illuminated the daily life of North Koreans, presenting them as
human beings living in--and in spite of--extraordinary
circumstances. The Accusation, which is a triumph simply for
existing, places Bandi in the canon of dissenting literature. Now
we can only hope to read more of his work."--Paste "The seven
stories . . . aptly convey the hardships and constant trauma that
people face in a country cut off from the rest of the world . . .
Written with deep emotion and elegance."--Business Standard "All we
can do is to read these 'accusations.' Only that will save the
writer who wrote and sent them out into the world at the risk of
his own life."--Kyung-Sook Shin, New York Times bestselling author
of Please Look After Mom "The Accusation is a stark and often
despair-inducing collection, but one we should read with great
urgency at this moment, both as a document of what is and what
could be and as a way to continue gaining better understanding of
the complexities of North Korean society, which remains elusive to
the West . . . The Accusation represents a milestone for those
living outside the DPRK, but also in a sense for those living
within its borders . . . Bandi refuses simplicity for his
characters. Instead he gifts them forceful and vivid
voices."--Words Without Borders "A startling collection of short
stories revealing the brutal reality of life inside the isolated
regime . . . A remarkable feat of dissident literature . . . The
seven short stories and one poem presented in The Accusation are
based on harrowing true events, which only heightens their import
and impact . . . A clarion call for justice, The Accusation is an
unforgettable testament to indomitable human spirit, written with
an unbending commitment to the truth, at times difficult to bear,
but also spiked with a sharp satirical spear . . . Immeasurably
vital."--New Daily "This is an extraordinary tale of ordinary
people in North Korea . . . A highly readable, nuanced, credible
picture of a country where ordinary people go about their lives
treading around the regime, and sometimes bumping into it."--BBC
World Service "A collection of courageous and confounding short
stories . . . expertly translated by Deborah Smith . . . Shows
similarities of both quality and content to stories by authors as
various as Gorky, Solzhenitsyn and Chen Ruoxi, or even Chinese
contemporaries such as Yan Lianke . . . Vivid and uncompromising
storytelling."--New Statesman (UK) "These short works offer
powerful insights into a world behind walls . . . In its scope and
courage, The Accusation is an act of great love."--Guardian
"Unflinching tales from North Korea . . . Enlightening . . . A
compelling collection."--Observer (UK) "Billed as the first work of
fiction by someone still living in North Korea (under a pen-name
meaning 'firefly'), Bandi's collection set during the Arduous March
of the early 1990s is understated, detail-rich, full of pathos and
incredibly brave."--The Globe and Mail "The Accusation takes us
across a deep cultural and political border . . . The stories,
written between 1989 and 1995, constitute a passionate J'accuse . .
. Shines a necessary light on what remains one of the darkest
places on Earth."--Hamilton Spectator "A rare piece of fiction from
one of the world's most repressive regimes . . . A dramatic
page-turner."--Quartz "For readers interested in a candid look at
life in North Korea, The Accusation . . . will immerse you via the
stories of common folk."--Millions "A concise and clearly written
and translated work . . . The stories document the poverty, mutual
spying and damaged family relations, the desire for openness and
dream of defection that imbue everyday life."--The Hudson Review
"Bandi has been likened to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. This is a
specious analogy . . . Bandi cannot be fitted into familiar
traditions because he is unprecedented. North Korea is unlike
anything that exists or has existed . . . Bandi's existence proves
that fear and mass hypnosis haven't yet succeeded in annihilating
the imaginations of North Koreans. If the stories in The Accusation
are sourced from the actual experiences of actual people, then
there can be no doubt that there are multiple Bandis in the
country--men and women like the characters in The Accusation who
are striving to preserve their souls from the assaults of the Kim
dynasty."--The National "The Accusation continues to make
international history as the first literary work smuggled out of
repressive North Korea . . . Illuminating stories that reveal
desperate lives enduring terrifying day-to-day challenges . . .
British translator Smith . . . expertly delivers Bandi's subversive
prose with nuanced grace . . . As Bandi's characters both fear and
sling accusations, the title takes on piercing gravitas for
readers."--Booklist (starred review) "With these uncompromising
stories, the pseudonymous Bandi gives a rare glimpse of life in the
"truly fathomless darkness" of North Korea . . . An endnote about
how Bandi's collection was smuggled out of the country reveals just
how miraculous it is that it exists at all."--Publishers Weekly
"Fugitive fiction--literally--from inside North Korea,
devastatingly critical of the Kim dynasty and its workers' paradise
. . . There is a streak of satire in these stories, but mostly they
are grimly realistic . . . Certainly the author has access to the
broad sweep of North Korean society, from industrial workers and
farmers to midlevel political functionaries . . . An important
document of witness."--Kirkus Reviews "No fiction beyond a trickle
of agitprop has passed beyond North Korea's borders, and of course
dissident voices are suppressed altogether. When it was smuggled
out, this story collection became an international publishing
sensation."--Library Journal "Well-crafted stories . . . The
Accusation is a haunting, disturbing collection . . .
worthwhile."--Complete Review "[An] insightful and harrowing
collection of stories written about life in North Korea . . . The
overarching aspects of everyday life in a terrorist regime are on
full display . . . [Bandi's] stories are delivered in a simple
style, but neither time nor translation lessen their impact."--US
Review of Books "[A] slim, powerful volume."--Week "Bandi's writing
style is markedly different from that of Western fiction . . . The
rather bare-bones, bracing style fits the stories told. Their
content has so much implicit drama and heartache, there's no need
to elaborate . . . The Accusation is a quick read . . . Worthy of
attention."--Crime Fiction Lover "The stories are understated but
the dissent is scorching. The only way to adequately honour writing
that puts the author's life in danger is to read it."--Globe and
Mail Dissident tales from pseudonymous author Bandi, still living
in the country . . . very rare fiction to emerge from the secretive
dictatorship . . . on its way to becoming an international literary
sensation.--Alison Flood, Guardian "[A] remarkable collection of
stories . . . Revealing the terrible truth of living in a country
where any any freedoms are curtailed, where famine and brutality
are rife, but where human belief and hope can survive any odds,
this is a defining read for 2017."--Emerald Street (UK)
"Compelling, at times heartbreaking . . . [There] are echoes of
great dissident writers such as Alexander Solzhenitsyn and leading
Western chroniclers of 20th-century totalitarianism such as George
Orwell . . . There is a rawness about the prose that is as
startling as it is unsettling . . . In common with Fyodor
Dostoevsky, Bandi has the deepest sympathy for the unassuageable
anguish of his or her characters . . . [A] truly remarkable book .
. . [The Accusation] may well be the most important work of fiction
published this year."--Australian "The Accusation courageously
speaks for millions of people who collectively long for a life of
peace."--Culture Trip Plunges us into the daily life of families in
North Korea. These stories are the cry of a man suffocated by
totalitarianism. These are also the cry of an entire people who
have been broken under the yoke of North Korean communism . . . The
author makes use of storytelling, poetry, humor, and even the
burlesque to aid his condemnation of these unbearable injustices.
The writing is simple, humble, which gives it its beauty. The seven
novellas shine with humanity and tenderness.--Aleteia This
collection of novellas that the author managed to extract from his
country is of incredible value . . . The classic construction
reminds us of Gogol and Chekhov, and for their taste for absurdist
satire, Ionesco and Bulgakov.--Books Magazine Describes in very
impressionistic, subtle, almost veiled tones, if I may, the daily
life of a dictatorship . . . The book gives a human face, gives
stories and images, to the sufferings of North Koreans . . . I was
almost groggy by the time I finished reading, reminding myself of
just how lucky I am to live in a democracy . . . I thought of
Orwell and Kafka but realized that the country described here
really exists and that there are people who are living there,
perhaps not even knowing that a different kind of life is
possible.--L'express Bandi, a pseudonym that means firefly, has
achieved the unthinkable - offering a testimony on the dictatorial
regime of North Korea while remaining in situ . . . In the same way
as the works of Solzhenitsyn in their time, Bandi's writing reminds
us of the perennial necessity of battling censorship, whatever the
cost.--L'amour des livres This author is completely unknown and
would like to stay that way. He continues to live in a country that
is held fast by an iron fist, putting his life at risk by writing.
He describes, not without humor, the ordinary life of this
dictatorship, the extreme misery there, and the surveillance
networks that have been put in place by the regime, which make
everyone into a potential spy or informant.--Mag Dimanche Even if
one did not know anything about the writer or the way the
manuscript was smuggled out of the country, it would not diminish
the fact that the force of this collection of novellas evokes the
classics of world literature about totalitarianism.--L'ours A
message in a bottle that is so precious that we should all reach
out to grab it and better understand the tragedy of the last
Marxist regime in the world.--Le Revenu Stories of simple people
that are humiliated and beaten down for absurd reasons, watched
over by grotesque henchmen and toadying neighbors, arrested and
punished by a dictatorship that has held the country under its heel
for six decades. A book to burst the silence.--La Vie This rare
collection offers seven moving novellas, snapshots of a country
where nothing normal ever leaks out . . . A far cry from the
grandiloquent, ridiculous images that are thrown out by the Kim
Jong-Un regime, The Accusation offers the opportunity to discover a
moving portrait of a secret country, a forgotten land where
humanity only asks to try to triumph.--Lire No one could imagine
that it could be at all comical to live in a dictatorship, but in
describing the limitless absurdity of the system, Bandi sometimes
makes the reader give out a nervous laugh . . . A fragile hint of
light in a country that confuses democracy with
obscurantism.--L'Alsace Each of these stories shows a different
aspect of the remorseless dictatorship . . . With a fierce sense of
irony and a deeply dark humor, Bandi denounces totalitarianism, the
divisions in North Korean society, and the absurdity and corruption
of the one party system.--La Grande Parade Stories written with a
great humanity, the work of a true writer.--Lecturama.fr The
appearance of this collection of seven novellas is a true
publishing event.--Livres Hebdo "This is a work of unassailable
tragedy. There are points you can't bring yourself to read anymore,
it's a full blown, collision course that cannot be avoided. You
want to scream out--how can life be this cruel? But you don't, for
as you learn in The Accusation, that will do no good . . . Bandi
has looked into the soul of the Workers' Party, its machinations,
and discovered its dark, demonic heart."--Arsalan Isa, The News on
Sunday (Pakistan) "Heart-wrenching . . . a powerful and unflinching
portrait of life under the rule of Kim Il-sung and Kim
Jong-il."--NDTV (New Delhi)
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