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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
This book is such a powerful experience of one man's determination and the human condition of survival.
By the end I was trying to hold back tears and was reminded of how truly privileged my life is in comparison to how many others struggle.
The most amazing part was that the author never lost hope in the face of all his struggles even when things were so dismal.
This was a truly solemn experience to read and an eye opener that I feel like needed to happen. A true story that NEEDED to be told, to allow for that veil to be removed from a part of the world we so seldom think about.
By the end I was trying to hold back tears and was reminded of how truly privileged my life is in comparison to how many others struggle.
The most amazing part was that the author never lost hope in the face of all his struggles even when things were so dismal.
This was a truly solemn experience to read and an eye opener that I feel like needed to happen. A true story that NEEDED to be told, to allow for that veil to be removed from a part of the world we so seldom think about.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Heartbreaking, upsetting and very educational. The author tells about his life in North Korea and how he manages to return to Japan after 36 years full of terror.
The contents of the book are haunting. Experiencing defeat after defeat, loosing loved ones to sickness and hunger... It's just horrible. I learned a lot in those brief pages and advise everyone to take a day or two to read through this book.
The contents of the book are haunting. Experiencing defeat after defeat, loosing loved ones to sickness and hunger... It's just horrible. I learned a lot in those brief pages and advise everyone to take a day or two to read through this book.
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
Heartbreaking memoir but very informative.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
This true story is heartbreaking. Ishikawa starts his story as a young child in Japan, chronicles his immigration to North Korea, his tragic life in North Korea, and then his escape back to Japan. This is not a happy story. He does make it back to Japan, but it is not the happy ending he was hoping for. This was a difficult, but important read. I highly recommend.
Tenho certeza que esse livro vai para sempre ficar na minha memória como uma das histórias mais tristes que ja vi. Não consegui me conter, e tenho certeza que chorei a cada capítulo, incapaz de conceber a crueldade vivida pelo autor.
Serfdom is freedom. Repression is liberation. A police state is a democratic republic. And we were “the masters of our own destiny.” And if we begged to differ, we were dead.
This is one powerful little memoir. It's a true story that sounds like dystopian fiction - for most of us, it is difficult to imagine families being lured to a new "paradise", only to be met with famine, concentration camps and violence. It's hard to accept that this is still part of our world.
I, like many, am fascinated and horrified by North Korea. Recent news stories have only fuelled that particular fire of fascination. I've read fiction about the history of Korea in books such as [b:Pachinko|29983711|Pachinko|Min Jin Lee|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462393298s/29983711.jpg|50384116], which showed many Koreans migrating to Japan during colonization and being seen as second class citizens. Then, later, when their home country was split in two, many were unable to return. I have also read [b:Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea|6178648|Nothing to Envy Ordinary Lives in North Korea|Barbara Demick|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320449375s/6178648.jpg|6358552], which documents a variety of different experiences from defectors.
[b:A River in Darkness|34663135|A River in Darkness One Man's Escape from North Korea|Masaji Ishikawa|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1501540597s/34663135.jpg|55829735] complements both those books and adds something very unique - a detailed first person account of what it was and is really like to live in this secretive nation.
Ishikawa was born in Japan but his Korean father was seduced by promises of "paradise" and having "everything you need" in North Korea. The Red Cross shipped Japanese families to North Korea; something which the Japanese government and the UN were all too aware of and made no effort to prevent. So Ishikawa's family packed up and got on the boat. They arrived in a wasteland of horrors and were given a shack to live in with no electricity or running water.
For over thirty years, Ishikawa and his family suffered and starved. No one dared to speak out against the system, and it would have done no good if they did. As Japanese nationals, they were labelled as "hostiles", which meant they were given the worst jobs and worst homes. Ishikawa lost loved ones, his freedom, and most of his life to North Korea.
It is a deeply sad memoir and even the ending brings little relief. Ishikawa admits that he can feel nothing but bitterness. It's a dark, haunting, and eye-opening look into one of the greatest atrocities of our time.
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Amazing and horrifying read
This was an amazing and horrifying read. It follows a man who “moves” to North Korea, promised free education and the good life. Once there, he is subject to hard work, starvation, and no choice in his own life and future. As I read, I couldn’t believe his hope and perseverance even when Every Single Thing was going wrong. I read this, on my phone, in about 3 hours, and I just couldn’t put it down.
This was an amazing and horrifying read. It follows a man who “moves” to North Korea, promised free education and the good life. Once there, he is subject to hard work, starvation, and no choice in his own life and future. As I read, I couldn’t believe his hope and perseverance even when Every Single Thing was going wrong. I read this, on my phone, in about 3 hours, and I just couldn’t put it down.