North Korea, is a country which has been politically inaccessible under its continuing sequence of dictators. It has been in the news recently for President Donald’s Trumps threatening tweet to North Korea’s Leader Kim Jong Un – ‘you wont be around much longer!’

Yet from this country where civilians live in fear of their lives, under a harsh regime, has come a translation by Man Booker International winner Deborah Smith – The Accusation: Tales: Forbidden Stories from Inside North Korea.

The book written by Bandi (a pseudonym now doubt) in 2014 was smuggled out of North Korea to South Korea where it was published. It received international attention this year when Ms. Deborah Smith translated the seven stories that showcase the unreal totalitarian rule that citizens of North Korea are forced to live under. This is a book that shows us what happens to individuals living under such a regime, yet there is hope.