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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
Couldn’t put this thing down and I think the plight of this man and his family will be on my mind for years. I immediately googled him afterwards for an update, as I assume everyone did upon finishing the book, but found nothing to satisfy my eagerness to know how he’s doing. This book takes you into life in North Korea and taught me a lot. A lot of information I really was really happier not knowing but it’s important to know what’s going on in the world and it was an incredibly engaging read. Highly recommend.
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Important read for freedom
This book is a necessary read. We America could become North Korea if we forget our values and allow a despot to take control. I think high school kids should read this to understand the dangers of a chaste system and the dangers of a totalitarian regime. North Korea was not socialist. It was a dictatorship and still is. What is devastating is how people with power in China & Japan and the world could look the other way and do nothing. Money and power dictate morality and not what is right.
This book is a necessary read. We America could become North Korea if we forget our values and allow a despot to take control. I think high school kids should read this to understand the dangers of a chaste system and the dangers of a totalitarian regime. North Korea was not socialist. It was a dictatorship and still is. What is devastating is how people with power in China & Japan and the world could look the other way and do nothing. Money and power dictate morality and not what is right.
I picked this up on a whim because it was included in Kindle Unlimited. It was a riveting first person account of one man's escape from North Korea and it was heartbreaking.
This reads quick and you could easily get through it in one long-ish sitting because it was so captivating.
Wanting that it's very sad, but worth the read.
This reads quick and you could easily get through it in one long-ish sitting because it was so captivating.
Wanting that it's very sad, but worth the read.
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
See the full review at my blog: https://bookmarkedbya.wordpress.com/2019/03/18/a-river-in-darkness-masaji-ishikawa/ + follow me on Instagram at instagram.com/bookmarkedbya !
The heartbreakingly true story of one man’s hellish life in and ultimate escape from North Korea.
Masaji is 13 when the Koreans in Japan begin hearing rumblings of “peace on earth” across the sea. His mother, Japanese, doesn’t want to leave her homeland, but his abusive father, Korean, takes the bait and moves his family to North Korea. For the next 30 years, Masaji struggles to survive in the tyrannical wasteland that is North Korea, until, as a last ditch effort to save himself and his family, he escapes to China.
This book is crazy interesting, full of emotion, and SHORT - the perfect recipe. The writing and editing aren’t spectacular, but that is forgiven by the intensity and fascination that the topic brings. This is a must-read if North Korea and foreign affairs interest you, but note that this takes place from 1960 to 1994 so doesn’t cover the reign of Kim Jong-un, but rather his predecessors. Nonetheless, this book is so interesting and sheds a light on the atrocities that occurred, and still occur, in North Korea. I recommend you take a lazy day and bust through it!
The heartbreakingly true story of one man’s hellish life in and ultimate escape from North Korea.
Masaji is 13 when the Koreans in Japan begin hearing rumblings of “peace on earth” across the sea. His mother, Japanese, doesn’t want to leave her homeland, but his abusive father, Korean, takes the bait and moves his family to North Korea. For the next 30 years, Masaji struggles to survive in the tyrannical wasteland that is North Korea, until, as a last ditch effort to save himself and his family, he escapes to China.
This book is crazy interesting, full of emotion, and SHORT - the perfect recipe. The writing and editing aren’t spectacular, but that is forgiven by the intensity and fascination that the topic brings. This is a must-read if North Korea and foreign affairs interest you, but note that this takes place from 1960 to 1994 so doesn’t cover the reign of Kim Jong-un, but rather his predecessors. Nonetheless, this book is so interesting and sheds a light on the atrocities that occurred, and still occur, in North Korea. I recommend you take a lazy day and bust through it!
A half-Japanese, half-Korean man from Japan is drawn to Korea after his father is lured back to "a paradise" after a lifetime of prejudice.
Short, directly written, and very interesting. The end of the book doesn't cover the end of the problems, though, so hang on tight.
Recommended for those who enjoy reading modern biographies.
Short, directly written, and very interesting. The end of the book doesn't cover the end of the problems, though, so hang on tight.
Recommended for those who enjoy reading modern biographies.
4,5 stars.
My god. The abject suffering and misery of living in North Korea is beyond anything I could have imagined.
My god. The abject suffering and misery of living in North Korea is beyond anything I could have imagined.