Download The Ginseng Hunter Audiobook

" This book was just depressing. It's about a Chinese ginseng hunter who lived on the border of China and North Korea. He witnesses some North Koreans sneaking into China and also encounters a North Korean prostitute. However, I didn't like the way Jeff Talarigo told the story -- it was very confusing to me. It was also difficult to relate to ANY of the characters in any way. "

" This book is like a haiku. Simple and brilliant, with an ending that changes one's perspective on the work as a whole. No review can really do justice to Talarigo's tale of a ginseng hunter on the border between North Korea and China at the turn of the twenty-first century better than the book itself. A story to be savored. And other such-like hyperbole. Read it! "

" This book is short (176 pgs)and an easy read. It is always eye-opening to me to read about other cultures and their hardships. "

" A beautiful, powerful and sad story. While you read the book you feel the Ginseng Hunter's solitude, and understand his oneness with nature. The pain of the woman whose company he seeks when he goes to sell his Ginseng is equally felt. It is a beautifully satisfying read. "

" This novel takes place along the Chinese/Korean border. A look at a very different kind of life. "

" Bleak, haunting, and depressing. I liked the spare style. Sometimes I was a little confused by who was speaking, possibly because I listened to the audio book instead of reading it. "

" Interesting cultural read. Historical fiction. "

" certainly will read his first book - pearl diver! "

" Interesting socio-political fiction, the relationship between individuals living on the boarder of China and North Korea. The boundaries of us/them blurred by the proximity of land, sometimes only divided by a river one can wade across. "

" A moving and often chilling tale of one man's isolated existence on China's border with North Korea. "

" With a brevity of words, it captures a universe of images... had to read it once I started and finished it in under a day. "

" Short little book set in the 1990's along the North Korea and China border. Great quick read. Gives great background on the terrible atrocities of the current North Korean regime. "

" A well written and engaging story about a Chinese ginseng hunter's role in the lives of sevaral North Koreans. This is a very quick read and well worth it. "

" While there are significant moments in the history of the Korea, this is a story of the everyday lives of the human beings living under the political oppression. "

" This book was a quick read with interesting, descriptive writing -- it was as though you were walking behind the main character, feeling the soil and smelling the ginseng root, and feeling the sorrow of his life. "

" An easy read and romantically written about the journey of a ginseng hunter in North Korea. "

" Lovely, quiet, and sad, about the lives around the North Korean & Chinese border. "

" (see "the harvester" review) "

" Beautiful written, opens to reveal its humanity like a blossom. Such a cruel world "

" A very short read, but interesting. "

" interesting book about the relationship between a man and a woman on the border between China and North Korea in the present day. Ancient Chinese tradition collides with modern day dictatorship. V. interesting. "

" Loved it! There was a concubine moment but nothing I wouldn't recommend to my grandmother. "

" A sad but beautifully told story. I was glad that I had read the book Nothing to Envy because it confirmed the facts in this book about the recent famine in North Korea. "

" Short, fast read! Well written story about life and how we all view it! "

" captivating and a tenuous and delicious balance between the serene and constant world of nature and the absolute insanity of human cruelty and desperation "

" Haunting. First novel I have read surrounding the Korean/Chinese/Russian border situation and personal politics. I want to know more about that region and culture. "

" Interesting cultural read. Historical fiction. "

" A mixture of desolate writing & a mournful sounding narrator make for a dreary reading experience. "

" I wanted something under 200 pages to take on a recent plane flight and chose this book. Yes it was depressing but the truth often is. I was not aware of how people lived within the past several decades in North Korea. How disturbing. "

" Only OK because of the ginseng descriptions. "

" While there are significant moments in the history of the Korea, this is a story of the everyday lives of the human beings living under the political oppression. "

" Prose that reads more like poetry. Takes place on the China/North Korea border. "

" A small book that captures a lot of pain and beauty. Gave me nightmares, but for too many people it is their reality. "

" A very short read, but interesting. "

" Gorgeous book. Simple, understated, and breathtakingly beautiful prose. I haven't read the author's first book, The Pearl Diver, but I plan to do so as soon as possible. "

" The two things that stand out most: very scenic, and very sad. Set on the border between China and North Korea, the story was mostly about recent political oppression in North Korea, dressed up in beautiful scenery. The book didn't really have an end, except to say that "life goes on." "

" Beautifully written, and sad. The prose was like poetry. Brief, but inspirational. "

" Lonely. Great descriptions. Misunderstood is just simple humanity. "