I am grateful to NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The subject material of this book is fascinating. The young daughter of the President of Equatorial Guinea goes to North Korea in the 1970s for her education and possibly safety. She remains there for some 15 years before setting out to explore the world and revisit her heritage.

The book, first published in 2013 in Korean, now published in English, is a diary of sorts, covering events and people over many decades. The authors father is ousted as President of EG, however she remains a guest of NK, enjoying patronage at the highest levels. Her lifestyle is pampered and entitled although naturally isolated from the world outside of NK. She views NK through the eyes of a diplomatic, an invited expatriate, with special status, privileges and freedoms.

It is an interesting story of post-colonialism, the Cold War and a certain North Korean life during the 1970s and 1980s. Hardly representative however and the author, although enjoying remarkable freedoms, seems ignorant to the circumstances of ordinary North Koreans. Her father is killed during the political chaos of post-colonial EG, in the early years of her time in NK. Yet she remains there, a guest of the government and grows up essentially Korean. She speaking the language, looses her Spanish and enjoying the food and lifestyle. Her mindset is very much positive towards her adopted country and she sees little to fault. While of course, being critical of the West and naturally the United States.

The dialogue and some events recalled from the distant past do not ring true at times. The book is to some extent a ‘diary’ based on the authors ‘truth’. The nature of the NK regime and the indoctrination inherent in the system is worth taking into account when reading this book.

After some 15 years in NK, the author leaves and begins a journey of discovery, living and travelling in various countries, including the US and Europe. She also seeks to find out more about her father and his time as President of EG. Her sources seem to be relatives and others sympathetic to her father. The views she hears may be biased or untruthful, coming sometimes from those complicit in her fathers administration. She seems ambivalent or at best forgiving towards her father’s behaviour and actions as President. It is useful to bear in mind that most modern sources view him as a brutal and corrupt dictator rather than a liberator from Colonialism.

Her travels and observations are interesting, as she sees for the first time, life in the Western; how people learn, live, grow and prosper. She experiences Culture Shock and even feels an alien in her home-country of EG, neither speaking the language or enjoying the food. Life is difficult as she seeks out her place in the world, travelling and living in Spain, the US, South Korea, China and the UK. Nevertheless, she remains an advocate for NK life and even returns there for a visit. She is sympathetic towards her former NK hosts, their lifestyle and apparently is still somewhat uninformed about the life outside of the diplomatic bubble she enjoyed while growing up. As for North Korea’s military ambitions, there is little she has to say.

The closing chapters of the book are dominated by her struggles as she seeks to find her place in life. The book segues somewhat into identity politics; race, politics, colonialism, racism, classism etc, as she presents herself as a victim. Her life has certainly been complicated by her childhood circumstances. But as an adult, outside of NK, her choices have been made freely and have been hers to make. I doubt her difficulties will resonate much with those that have faced far more serious and brutal treatment under her previous benefactors in EG or NK. Nevertheless it is interesting to read her views as she experiences and lives freely in the world today. She states “…all countries are the same, acting in their own interests…” This may be true, but even so, the outcomes for people in most parts of the world are far preferable to those who live in EG, NK or under other authoritarian and repressive regimes.

The early and middle parts of this book are interesting. The background of African post-colonialism and the Cold War along with an insight into certain aspects of NK society makes good reading. The authors lifestyle and the veracity of her recollections however should be taken into account by the reader. The later parts of this book are less interesting and I think many readers may have difficulty with her ‘victim’ status. One journalist observed, around the time of the Korean language version of the book, that the author struggles to condemn atrocities committed by her powerful benefactors in NK and EG. I think this is correct and thus makes reading this book a less satisfying experience.

This was such an interesting book. I had no idea of the history of Ecuatorial Guinea. Monica upbringing shows a different side to the North Korean regime at the time of Kim Il- Sung. I hope Monica is at peace with her upbringing and family history.

In the late 1970s and at the age of only seen, Monica and her siblings are sent by her father, the first president of Equatorial Guinea after the country’s independence, to be educated in North Korea. After losing both parents, it takes all of the children’s willpower to survive in their austere military boarding school, and to assimilate in the North Korean culture. Her unusual childhood, and people’s perceptions of North Korea, continue to follow Maria even as an adult when she moves between the People’s Republic of China, the USA, South Korea, Guinea, Spain and the UK. Full of unique insights and a genuine testimony to the inventiveness, imagination and strength of character of its main character, this is an extraordinary memoir that deserves as wide an audience as possible. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the free ARC I was gifted in exchange for producing this unbiased review.

Monica Macias has led a very interesting life and has experience life in many different countries and cultures.

The daughter of a dictator and put into the care of another in North Korea, she seems to be very naive of the issues surrounding each of them. Despite her education and masters thesis, there is no acceptance of the atrocities committed within the two regimes which was disappointing.

An amazing memoir about a daughter of a vilified President and then a ward of a Korean dictator. Her childhood was shielded and lonely. As an adult she wanted to find out who she and her family really were. Her tale covers her experiences in North and South Korea, Africa, Spain,, England and America. She has a wonderful philosophy of looking for truth, and not believing any version of events until proven with evidence. We could only wish modern journalists could follow her example. Fascinating read

I finished this book only because I felt obliged to as I had requested it and wanted to leave a review of it. I feel it will appeal to a limited sector of readers. I felt that the author raced through her life without much detail.

This book was fine. I was expecting and hoping for it to be more than fine based on the absolutely enthralling premise.. I was genuinely intrigued by the author’s upbringing and very curious about her perspective on growing up in North Korea. I really appreciated the overarching theme that most of us are more similar than we are different, regardless of conflicting political ideologies and social norms. However, the book veered into “here’s why some notoriously cruel dictators actually weren’t that bad” territory. I am not the type to sugarcoat American history or to idolize political figures. I’d like to believe I am also capable of accepting that bad and good can and often do exist at the same time. But this book really pushed the limits of my ability to accept gray area and I suspect it will be the same for many others. Plus… it was kinda boring, too.

"Are they aware that, wherever there are asymmetric power dynamics, the victor's version of events is accepted as the truth, creating a warped narrative of historical events?"

Hmm, this is essentially a lightweight and patronisingly naïve narrative in which Macias states well-known axioms such as that above as if they're discoveries that only she has made and which she wants to impart to us. And yes, we are aware that, to quote the cliché, history is written by the victors. It's really not news.

I constantly felt that there's a space between the book that has been intentionally written and the one that we are reading. The story pushed is that her father, Francisco Macias, 'was the victim of powerful enemies who elaborated a meticulous plan to eliminate him from the Guinean political scene' (this is how she summarises the main thrust of her Masters dissertation) and that he and her proxy father, Kim Il Sung, President of North Korea until his death in 1994, have been essentially maligned unfairly by the West. Of course, there is an element of truth in the way that pat anti-communist narratives are spread but, at the same time, this book doesn't engage with the more neutral and documented narratives of brutalities, torture, and abysmal human rights abuses that exist in both states. Calling out one extreme form of propaganda does not make its opposite true.

It's a shame as Monica has had a fascinating life: daughter of the leader of Equatorial Guinea in its independence from its status as a colony of Spain, sent with her siblings at age seven to live in North Korea under the personal patronage of Kim Il Sung. But we don't get any real details of everyday life in North Korea, and she's soon off travelling to Spain, back to Equatorial Guinea, South Korea, China, New York and London where she does a masters at SOAS.

It's quite amazing that Monica works as a retail assistant in a shop, as a chambermaid in a London hotel, low-paid jobs, and yet somehow manages to fly around the world, live in expensive cities (she claims she gets a part-loan for her SOAS studies) *and never makes mention of how any of this is funded*. Indeed, against the claim that her father stole national money, her mother says if that were true, where is the money...

Comments about structural racism feel tired and clichéd - whereas Monica could have had a fascinating perspective as someone with very mixed-race antecedents who has moved from Africa to Asia to Europe, and who speaks a variety of languages. For all her claims about the importance of education, there's not much evidence in here of critical thinking above a most basic level.

And then there are the anomalies that feel inserted for dramatic effect: the daughter of an African leader and proxy daughter of the North Korean President turns up in Spain and doesn't realise she needs a residency visa? The night before her masters dissertation is due in she hits a key, all the text turns to numbers *and she sits up all night to rewrite the entire thing from memory?* (I mean, which postgrad student doesn't save their dissertation compulsively in seven different places?)

Ultimately this feels rather opaque.

An interesting story about a young Black girl from Equatorial Guinea who grows up and attends school in North Korea. She's invited by the leader, Kim Il Sun, and lives under his dictates. She excels in the Korean language, even forgetting her native Spanish, and enjoys her life there.

During the first half of the book, I was disappointed that there wasn't more information about the country of North Korea, its population, and what life was like there. This may be because the author lived a more privileged life under Kim Il Sun. The author however does write about other foreign friends, as she is not allowed to have lasting friendships with Koreans, and her school life.

A memoir is always an intensely personal piece of writing, and in Black Girl from Pyongyang it certainly feels like Macias has thought carefully about her phrasing and how she would like herself and the people she has met to be portrayed. This means it often seems more defensive than insightful, challenging a reader who, one can probably assume, has picked up the book with an open mind.

I liked the clear, simplistic prose and Macias does draw some interesting parallels between the places she's lived. But there is almost a clinical sense of curation in the selective stories she chooses to tell, as if it's an essay with a point to prove.

Given her upbringing as the eponymous black girl from Pyongyang, Macias has an interesting and unique perspective on the world, but I didn't feel that this memoir offered much real insight.

This is a harrowing story in many respects, of Macias’ life - without a doubt, it’s unusual. Along with two siblings, she is sent to Pyongyang when she’s seven to go to school from her Equatorial Guinea home. Her parents are protecting her from the troubles of her homeland, which seems odd, given what we read about North Korea. However, Macias has a largely positive experience and much of her formative education is experienced in the mysterious Asian country.

Throughout, the writer explores how her father was treated in EG, finding out heartbreaking information about his death. She loves North Korea and is made to feel welcome, returning at different times after leaving. She lives in Madrid, New York and London - and studies for a masters in the latter capital city.

Being a black girl in 1970s Pyongyang would, admittedly, have been tough. Even though this is a fascinating story, many key bits of information are omitted - things suddenly happen without any real explanation of how. Also, Macias paints quite a positive view of North Korea, blaming the West for negative slants - this may well be true for her but goes against many things we know. It’s hard to read this when we know of the extreme poverty and terrible human rights record the country has. I think Macias’ experience was somewhat privileged, even if it didn’t seem like that to her at the time.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

A very powerful and gripping story that is difficult to read in some parts but worth sticking with. I would say this is more politically aimed than a memoir. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Monica Macias has written a powerful account of her life in Black Girl from Pyongyang. Her circumstances growing up are unusual as her father decided to send her and her other siblings to be raised in Pyongyang North Korea from Equatorial Guinea. Clearly the young Monica struggles, from being a young child separated from her family, from the vigorous education process, and the new culture. Over time Monica adapts, she is in the guardianship of Kim II Sung, who takes a fatherly interest in her life and remains so until she leaves the country.

Shortly after arriving in Pyongyang, her father is assassinated, and she is truly on her own with almost no contact with her mother. As all this sinks in, Monica slows adapts, learns Korean and even finds foods that she likes. She is given a choice at the end of her studies to stay in North Korea where she now has many friends and is comfortable or go and see a world that she knows nothing about.

Her choice is to leave, and she heads to Spain as she has lost her ability to speak Spanish (this is the language she used with her mother and family - the other is Fang). In Spain she begins to learn about the world, about other people besides North Koreans, and investigates the circumstances of her father’s death. She grows tremendously, makes friends, works, and opens her eyes to the world. She gains strength from this and then sets her sites on New York, Seoul, Guinea, Beijing and London where she earns an advanced degree at SOSA, a leading school for the study of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Overall I think this is an important book with an interesting view into North Korea. Granted it is one person’s experience, but she points out that in every country there are good and bad people. She is not making big political statements as to the present regime. At times I have disagreed with her perspective, but I see no point in taking away from her experience. There is value here if as a world we truly want peace.

Having had not one father figure viewers by the west as a dictator but two, the author's childhood is not what you'd call traditional.. Following her life from Equatorial Guinea, a childhood in North Korea and then as an adult, discovering her identity across the world, the story is intrinsically interesting. Monica Macias offers, and is intensely passionate about, an alternative to the western view of North Korea.

It's a life of discovery; I greatly enjoyed the first part of her story, felt the quality of writing dipped a little in the middle before coming back up with her academic studying in London.
It's an interesting read, trying to understand the experiences of someone with such a mix of cultural identities as they struggle with that themselves was a new reading experience for me.

Perhaps not the insightful account of life in North Korea that I expected, but it is an interesting story of the narrator's search for identity.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.

Life in North Korea is a subject I find interesting; however, every account of life in the DPRK I have read has been from either a Korean citizen or a white person who has visited for some time. The title of Monica Macias' book, Black Girl from Pyongyang, was what initially drew me to this (special thanks to NetGalley for the ARC), as I had never considered what life for a black person in North Korea may be like. Come to find out, author Monica Macias is the daughter of the former president of Equatorial Guinea, Francisco Macias Nguema. I learned much more about Equatorial Guinea and its history since gaining independence from Spain than I had expected; however, that, unfortunately, is where my compliments end.

As far as style goes, the book is shallow and brief. Macias decides to leave North Korea after finishing school, and a chapter later ten years has passed. Storytelling and pacing do not seem to be the author's strong suit. The writing lacked detail or depth; Macias often repeated that she did not feel comfortable, but she never went into detail about what that meant for her development as a person. You could cut out much of this repetition and the book would be much shorter--something, unfortunately, I think it would have benefited from. That said, this memoir IS a translation of an earlier edition, originally published in Korean--something she discusses in the book itself, however, meaning she added additional chapters after translation and the book still felt shallow. There may be nuances and storytelling techniques that come through more in the original language of the text that I miss given that this is in English, but unfortunately I cannot comment on the literary value of the Korean text.

Finally, and what most importantly inspired such a low rating, was the blatant erasure of Macias' father figures' negative impacts. Sure, Macias is not Francisco, and she is not Kim Il-sung; she does not deserve to be attacked for the actions of her elders. She does, however, spend MOST of the memoir defending North Korea and Kim Il-sung. She writes about how Kim took her in, but she offers up almost nothing on what her and the dictator's relationship looked like. She attempts to make a dictator look sympathetic, and yet provides no reason for our sympathy beyond the fact that she lived alongside him. I doubt a heartwarming chapter about evenings spent together or details about beloved memories together would make me particularly sympathetic to the literal leader of North Korea, but it may have helped Macias' case to support the regime if she had used any attempt beyond "well, they raised me". At the same time, Macias refuses to acknowledge her own father's abusive rule and in fact spends much of the final pages trying to convince the reader, through poorly constructed dialogue between Macias and unknown cousins at her MOTHER'S FUNERAL, that Macias really was not that bad because the current president and first lady are also corrupt. Upon Googling Francisco's name, one of the first things you see is his being named "one of the most brutal dictators of history" and how, under his power, Equatorial Guinea was nicknamed the "Dachau of Africa". Thousands fled, for fear for their lives or for better life opportunity, INCLUDING Macias herself. And yet, neither man is that bad.

This book reads like a piece of political propaganda. I can understand why it may not be intentional; Macias may firmly believe that her biological and adopted fathers, both corrupt dictators, are just misunderstood by the rest of the world. I do not doubt that she loved both men. Unfortunately, despite going into this book with an open mind and a readiness to accept Macias' support for the dictators, I was not able to leave feeling content. Lacking any actual detail, repeating the same lines about her fathers' innocence without support, and dragging on--not unlike this review--for far too long, Monica Macias' Black Girl from Pyongyang is one I would recommend you skip.

As is often the case with memoirs, this is a difficult book to review..

The author, Monica Macias is the daughter of Francisco Macias, deemed to be one of the most violent leaders to ever be. She also spent the majority of her childhood in North Korea, under the protection of Kim Il-Sung, an important ally to her father. As a little girl she lost the connection with her home country, her mother tongue and quickly lost her father too. She says her soul is Korean as for a long time it was the only country she remembered living in.
As she moved to Spain after receiving an education, she felt the need to learn where she came from and reconciliate the different parts of her story and origins. Spanish (her mother tongue) quickly came back to her, she met people there, got her first job and started to experience life in a different way. She came to grasp with the fact that the men she calls her fathers are mostly seen in a negative light abroad and set herself on a mission to uncover the whole truth and learn all the facts before speaking up about anything political concerning them both. As she wrote this memoir she believes her father was set up and hasn't commited the crimes he is accused of.

I must admit I am not too familiar with her father's story and I don't feel I am fit to talk about much of Guinean's history either although I can agree on her thoughts on decolonisation.

As to North Korea, I feel very ambivalent about what she has to say. She liked it, misses it and I can understand that as it is home to her. I do wonder how being essentially pupil of the state has influenced her experience..
I find it a little easy to talk about North Korean defectors she has met and point out their wanting to go back if they could to show that it -supposedly- isn't as bad as we've been told in the west. Where are the defectors who would rather die than go back ? There are a few points she makes like this one that to me felt shallow, especially for an academic.
Do a lot of the defectors face discrimination in South Korea, I believe so yes. Must it be difficult to rebuild your life as an immigrant in the South? So hard I expect, especially when often times they have left their family behind and may never know what will happen to them but also economically, competitively etc. However considering the circumstances people have to flee in I would argue that they've left for good reasons.

She reminisces about the food and community she misses but I find it bizarre that she chose to skip over the negative parts altogether. Maybe in an effort to balance with what we otherwise would read about NK. I would have liked to read about her full experience though. I would have liked to know whether or not she was aware of executions, disappearings etc while she lived there.
I think a lot of her arguments lack complexity. It's a shame because she clearly is a smart woman.


Despite all of this she makes some really good points about the cultures she has encountered along her travels in Spain, the U.S.A, The U.K and South Korea as well as about race. It's an easy read and the kind of life trajectories you don't often read about. If you are thinking about picking this book up, all I would advice is that you don't go in expecting much on politics but treat it more as an atipycal journey of self discovery.

Ultimately I think the general idea is to point out that no matter our differences, we could all gain from being more open ot others and seek objectivity instead of reactivity when forming opinions and with that I can fully agree. I'm looking forward to reading more reviews as this book gains new readers and maybe one day to read Monica's fully formed thoughts on both Guinean and North Korean governments!