1.22k reviews for:

A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea

Masaji Ishikawa

4.21 AVERAGE

jess_ipp_87's review against another edition

5.0

informative inspiring tense fast-paced

sophiewilliams's review against another edition

3.0

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Harrowing account of life in North Korea

bukephalas's review against another edition

4.0

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Well that was depressing... 😳

xavierprice's review against another edition

4.0

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A breathtaking real, unfiltered view of life in North Korea as a Japanese-Korean. Not all tales end happily, but Masaji Ishikawa's story exemplifies the resilience of the human spirit and importance of optimism even in the darkest of times.

reading_hermit's review against another edition

5.0

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This book wrecked me. How could I ever not be thankful each day for the blessings I enjoy without a second thought?
Eye-opening and heartbreaking in equal measure.

laurel404's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense medium-paced

anya_reads's review against another edition

5.0

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4.5* (rounded up). A brutally honest and emotional memoir about a man's life and subsequent escape from North Korea.

ricoconritmo's review against another edition

2.0

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I can't say I liked the book. Yes, the story is tragic and compelling, but the writing (or perhaps the translation) is poor. Frankly, it came across as melodramatic in places and is totally unverifiable. "Nothing to Envy", was a much more balanced and well written narrative of the same subject. Give it a read.

ricoconritmo's review against another edition

2.0

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I can't say I liked the book. Yes, the story is tragic and compelling, but the writing (or perhaps the translation) is poor. Frankly, it came across as melodramatic in places and is totally unverifiable. "Nothing to Envy", was a much more balanced and well written narrative of the same subject. Give it a read.

naybug's review against another edition

4.75

challenging emotional informative sad medium-paced