Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
a heartbreaking story that leaves you aching. i flew through this book and felt so deeply for the author. it’s a raw, unfiltered telling of the horrors of north korea that he had to face to survive.
This is a difficult book to review, because...well, it's a harrowing account of a terrible, relentlessly painful life and it's sort of difficult to offer any real critique of that, at least right now, for me. It's brief, and the writing is very simple and spare, but it's agonizing. I'm curious about how this book came to be and what will happen now that the author has put a lot of this information out there (as he seems to be basically sworn to secrecy within the narrative by the people who helped him). Most things I have read about North Korea are necessarily general and removed from day to day life, so the personal perspective is valuable...and I also thought the parts of the book that deal with population-wide brainwashing and dehumanization were important, though of course horrific. Mostly, I just wish his family could have had some measure of comfort.
This portrait of life in North Korea is brutal and shocking, yet poignant. Ishikawa is incredibly resilient. This book was so gripping that I read it in two quick sessions. Definitely recommend.
“You don’t choose to be born. You just are. And your birth is your destiny, some say. I say the hell with that. And I should know. I was born not just once but five times. And five times I learned the same lesson. Sometimes in life, you have to grab your so-called destiny by the throat and wring its neck.”
Thus begins the story of Masaji Ishikawa’s life, and what a story it is. Born in Japan to a Japanese mother and Korean father, for reasons which Mr. Ishikawa never fully understands, his father moves them from Japan to North Korea in pursuit of a better life! Things go downhill from there.
The book is—as the reader might imagine—one long litany of suffering and deprivation, hopelessness and starvation. Surely North Korea ranks right up there as one of the worst places on earth, especially if when you arrive, you are assigned to the lowest class of North Korean, as Mr. Ishikawa’s family was. I found myself dumbfounded that his Japanese mother would go along at all, but go she did, and suffered along with everyone else.
Mr. Ishikawa’s first meal in North Korea? Dog meat. Sad to say, but as the years pass and the starvation begins, Mr. Ishikawa no doubt would have been overjoyed to have a meal of dog meat, rather than subsisting on acorns and weeds as was necessary for his family.
The book is quite remarkable due to its insights into totalitarian regimes. He writes:
“I soon learned that thought was not free in North Korea. A free thought could get you killed if it slipped out.”
“When you find yourself caught in a crazy system, dreamed by dangerous lunatics, you just do what you’re told.”
We see Mr. Ishikawa’s despair as he slowly realizes what his father’s choices have meant for his life: “I knew that I was destined for a life of hell on earth, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.” And so he was.
In totalitarian regimes “Language gets turned on its head. Serfdom is freedom. Repression is liberation. A police state is a democratic republic.”
Mr. Ishikawa eventually escapes from North Korea, but is powerless to help his family who remained in country. His wife starves to death. One of his daughters starves to death. He loses contact with another daughter and his son. It’s a sad, tragic, awful tale, that is a good example of man’s inhumanity to man.
Thus begins the story of Masaji Ishikawa’s life, and what a story it is. Born in Japan to a Japanese mother and Korean father, for reasons which Mr. Ishikawa never fully understands, his father moves them from Japan to North Korea in pursuit of a better life! Things go downhill from there.
The book is—as the reader might imagine—one long litany of suffering and deprivation, hopelessness and starvation. Surely North Korea ranks right up there as one of the worst places on earth, especially if when you arrive, you are assigned to the lowest class of North Korean, as Mr. Ishikawa’s family was. I found myself dumbfounded that his Japanese mother would go along at all, but go she did, and suffered along with everyone else.
Mr. Ishikawa’s first meal in North Korea? Dog meat. Sad to say, but as the years pass and the starvation begins, Mr. Ishikawa no doubt would have been overjoyed to have a meal of dog meat, rather than subsisting on acorns and weeds as was necessary for his family.
The book is quite remarkable due to its insights into totalitarian regimes. He writes:
“I soon learned that thought was not free in North Korea. A free thought could get you killed if it slipped out.”
“When you find yourself caught in a crazy system, dreamed by dangerous lunatics, you just do what you’re told.”
We see Mr. Ishikawa’s despair as he slowly realizes what his father’s choices have meant for his life: “I knew that I was destined for a life of hell on earth, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.” And so he was.
In totalitarian regimes “Language gets turned on its head. Serfdom is freedom. Repression is liberation. A police state is a democratic republic.”
Mr. Ishikawa eventually escapes from North Korea, but is powerless to help his family who remained in country. His wife starves to death. One of his daughters starves to death. He loses contact with another daughter and his son. It’s a sad, tragic, awful tale, that is a good example of man’s inhumanity to man.
This book is a compelling and heart wrenching account of the hell one man and his family went through in North Korea. His story unfolds over several decades in the North and encounters hardship, cruelty, and heartbreak at every turn. A powerful and emotional ride. Highly recommend.
Not the best book I've ever read, but important to read to understand more about life in North Korea. Hard to believe life could be so awful.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
An important and heartbreaking story of one man's encounter with what is possibly the most terrifying political regime since World War Two.
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
This is a short book, but what a harrowing, thought-provoking story it tells! It is not an easy read, this man's account of life in North Korea, his escape back to Japan and the terrible losses he and his family suffered in the process. I kept feeling stunned when the author mentioned the dates - so recent! - and that people dying of starvation seems a fairly common occurrence in North Korea. he paints a bleak picture, made bearable by the fact that he felt close bonds with his family. An eye-opening and important book!
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com