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A River in Darkness

One Man's Escape from North Korea

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A River in Darkness

By: Masaji Ishikawa, Risa Kobayashi - translator, Martin Brown - translator
Narrated by: Brian Nishii
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About this listen

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 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.

©2000 by Masaji Ishikawa. (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Translation © 2017 by Risa Kobayashi and Martin Brown. Activists Cultural & Regional Politicians Politics & Activism South Korea Emotionally Gripping Thought-Provoking Heartfelt North Korea

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All stars
Most relevant  
great book powerful and heartbreaking well written and translated l listened for three nights in a row an enjoyable but difficult experience highly recommend this book

great book

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This is not an easy listen. The suffering of the author, his family, the whole nation of North Korea are laid out in uncompromising honesty. But it is definitely worth hearing. Even if you think you know about the problems the country has, this deeply personal account of a much bigger tragedy is eye-opening.

Brutal, horrific & necessary

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Finished this book very quickly as I couldn't leave it. Heart-rending account of a father's stark choice to try and ensure his family's survival.

Shocking revelation!

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Masaji Ishikawa's story is truly soul-crushing, the level of trauma is beyond comprehension, therefore read it with caution.

Ishikawa describes his life under the North Korean regime as gruelling, horrifically terrifying, and there are some completely hopeless moments where you think why even bother anymore.

His journey begins in Japan, the child of a Japanese mother and Korean father, he was forced at a young age to move to North Korea under the pretence of "returning" to his motherland, though he never believed so. His father, an originally extremely violent man became pacified as he realised the perilous situation he bought his family into. But they soon face the truth and brutality of their circumstances.

The narrator defects at a much later stage in life, living around 30 years under the dictatorship, but leaving his family behind. He questions whether he made the right decision in the end as the consequences are revealed and the reader is left writhing in agony at his pain.

It is not an easy read, but it is important to understand the level of complexity and the reality of the situation. An absolute must read.

An utterly bleak story of an invisible man

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A harrowing story vividly told. I was holding back tears in more than one occasion

Harrowing

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Firstly I wold like to address the comments of poor narration by other reviewers. I felt he was extremely good , certainly not flippant. I personally think that when language is translated from one to another there is sometimes an essence of that culture and language that is lost in translation.
Now to this harrowing but still amazing book. It describes very vividly the life of Masaji his brief time in Japan with his violent Korean father and gentile Japanese mother, then their return to the paradise of north Korea which they had been promised.
The utter desolation hit me when they crossed the bridge over to North Korea and the Red Cross workers were telling them if they did not want to go they could go back now.
Masajis life is more than harsh and he describes his schooling, growing up, family and life in general with brutal honest simplicity. I do not doubt what he says is true and wonder were he found the strength after all those years to leave, mainly because at that point they were starving to death.
Mans inhumanity to man is astonishing and I kept thinking of books I have read of WW2 concentration camps and felt there was little or no difference.
The corruption and propaganda of the North Korean regime brainwashing and disparaging its people is unbelievable and I feel for those still living in this desolate inhospitable climate in the 21st century.

Bleak, brutal and bitter.

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I have read many books from North Korean defectors over the years while all are tragic and heart breaking this book is one that will live with me forever. I rarely cry but Masaji Ishikawa's story had me as a crying mess on more than one occasion.

you won't regret listing to this story and it's one that we should all listen to. I'll hug my family a little tighter tonight. thank you for sharing this with the world Masaji Ishikawa

heart breaking. a story I'll never forget

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A life of such tragedy that it is incomprehensible most of us. The story is like that of a movie, only it is all too real for so many people, living through it day by day, right now. I don't know how he carried on in those moments of absolute torment and hardship. I also don't know how he continues to to this day, with all that history. I hope he is as well as he can be , thank you for telling your story

Tragic, heartbreaking, incomprehensible suffering

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Masaji is one of the bravest man in the world. It is heartbreaking to learn (Yup I had no idea, so forever grateful for this book) how North Korea attracted people onto their territory. The discrimination is mind-blowing. An absolute read. Teens should read this at school.

Heartbreaking story of courage

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I have somewhat of an obsession with the accounts of defectors of North Korea, what sets this book apart is that it charts life in N Korea during the 1970’s, 80’s and into the 90’s. This book is much more about what it was like in N Korea during this time than the defection journey itself, but offers fascinating insight into the regime under Kim Il Sung. I think, The Girl with Seven Names and, In order to live, were better written and more compelling stories, a river in darkness is still well worth a read/listen.

A peek into N Korea at an earlier time than most defection accounts

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