Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
In Pyongyang, there are no phones, no lights, and no cars. Not a single luxury. It’s like Gilligan’s Island meets Dante’s Inferno. Hell on earth. Okay, there are some luxuries, but they...
What's Up With the Title?
The title is also the name of the city where Guy lives out his stay in North Korea. Pyongyang literally means “flat land,” and it is the capital city of North Korea. Guy Delisle describes it as...
What's Up With the Epigraph?
While it’s not quite an epigraph, there’s a nice map of the world included at the beginning of Pyongyang to show us exactly where the city is. The lands of North and South Korea are enlarged, a...
What's Up With the Ending?
Guy makes paper planes out of old storyboards and then throws them out the window. He likes it when they make it into the nearby river. Why? Does he hope someone will pick it up and learn something...
Tough-o-Meter
This novel is as easy as reading the Sunday funnies. Just as Guy Delisle has guides to lead him around North Korea, he in turn serves as our guide for this journey. Lucky us. His art style is clean...