A New York Times bestseller and Amazon Charts Most Read and Most Sold book.A Goodreads Choice Award nominee for Memoir & Autobiography.The harrowing true story of one man’s life in—and subsequent escape from—North Korea, one of the world’s most brutal totalitarian regimes.Half-Korean, half-Japanese, Masaji Ishikawa has spent his whole life feeling like a man without a country. This feeling … feeling like a man without a country. This feeling only deepened when his family moved from Japan to North Korea when Ishikawa was just thirteen years old, and unwittingly became members of the lowest social caste. His father, himself a Korean national, was lured to the new Communist country by promises of abundant work, education for his children, and a higher station in society. But the reality of their new life was far from utopian.
In this memoir translated from the original Japanese, Ishikawa candidly recounts his tumultuous upbringing and the brutal thirty-six years he spent living under a crushing totalitarian regime, as well as the challenges he faced repatriating to Japan after barely escaping North Korea with his life. A River in Darkness is not only a shocking portrait of life inside the country but a testament to the dignity—and indomitable nature—of the human spirit.
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Most Westerners know about how awful life in N. Korea is. Not many people escape and write about it. The author was born of a Japanese mother and Korean national father who immigrated to N. Korea with their children after falling for the false promise of a better life/education for their kids. 36 years later Mr. Ishikawa DID escape but encountered great personal loss in making the trip.
This book is very well written and easy to read. It gives a peek inside North Korea only to show that things are far worse than we can imagine. I laughed and I cried along with the author. I highly recommend this book!
Anyone who wants to know about North Korea should read this. Folks who live in the U.S. but think that socialism is the way to go NEED to read this. What an eye-opener! May God bless this author with the peace that only He can give. Thank you for sharing your story with us.
The hard true story of a man living in North Korea and his scape.
While the life that Mr. Ishikawa live was horrifying by anyone standards, I found that at time the book was difficult to read. At moments it seemed as though a cohesive thought was not entirely transformed from reality to word. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that this book was written from translation, so I can’t really fault it.
I’m not a history buff, I will never claim to be. I know enough that I was able to graduate from school but never really gave much thought to what was being taught to me. I find the memoirs have become a much more effective way for me to comprehend the history throughout the world as opposed to reading from a textbook that seemed to just ramble facts off. For instance I’m sure I learn of what was happening in Korea prior to reading A River in the Dark. But as I read I became more invested in the journey, more invested in the political aspect, the trying nature of the events that unfolded.
I was left elated and heartbroken as I reached the end of one man’s journey to just return home to a life that was striped from him because he was a child. The worst part is that even though this is part of our global existence not enough is being done to rectify the situation for him and everyone who has and still are suffering. One can only hope that something even if it small can be accomplished with that talks between South and North Korea. Yes, after reading this memoir I found myself wanting to know what was happening. This was the first time in a long time that I voluntarily looked up anything along the political line. I found a few articles, if you two are interested. CNN, NY Post & USA Today.
Now with all the positive being said I still had one question left unanswered. Once you draw to the conclusion of the story Masaji Ishikawa openly tells that he is not suppose reveal that the Japanese authority helped in him in anyway. But by writing this novel is that not what he did. Did he not reveal the one part of the agreement that was the most crucial. There are also other questions that sort of had been left open. While some information was given to the whereabouts of his family that was left in Korea, there really wasn’t a complete conclusion.
This was an eye opener for me. I think starting of my year with this has really grounded me. It has really made me realize just how lucky of a person I am in life. I don’t think I could have been as strong as Masaji Ishikawa or his sister or even his children who grew only to know one world.
It was hard to believe how this man survived such horrific treatment in N Korea
North Korea is very much in the news today. This true account of life there gave me a better understanding of how it really is for the people who live there.
Most of Americans are aware of the hideous circumstances of life in North Korea. This book is a “first person” account of what it really means to live there for many years………….and finally escape. NO happy endings here, alas, freedom sometimes really does mean “nothing left to lose”, The author puts a real human being front-and-central in the book (himself). It left an indelible mark on my brain/heart.
This book gives an excellent insight into life in North Korea. This was totally believable and Incredibly tragic.
What it’s like to live in North Korea. Abysmal conditions and a hopeless
existence. Well told but very depressing. Makes you appreciate what you take for granted.
This is the second memoir I’ve read about escaping from North Korea. The first focused on life inside a concentration camp. A River in Darkness gives a different look into the deplorable state North Koreans live in. Though the writing is simple, Masaji’s account is told so well, my heart ached when taking in the hatred, racism, starvation, unimaginable living conditions, and most importantly, lack of any freedom whatsoever. I strongly recommend this for anyone seeking insight into what it’s really like there.
Very personal account of what life is without freedoms we in USA take for granted. Discrimination can occur in any society and the book shows again how ugly it is and affect on individuals and society. Government for itself is explained. A society loss in senseless controls is not a society that will achieve anything for themselves or the world. Another book showing the failures of communism.
Believers in socialism should vacation in North Korea to see what their belief foster. Excellent ending showing that life is a struggle no matter society we live in.