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    A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea
    A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea
    A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea
    Audiobook5 hours

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

    Written by Masaji Ishikawa

    Narrated by Brian Nishii

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    TranslatorRisa Kobayashi and Martin Brown
    Release dateJan 1, 2018
    ISBN9781543602760
    A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea
    Author

    Masaji Ishikawa

    Born in 1947 in Kawasaki, Japan, Masaji Ishikawa moved with his parents and three sisters to North Korea in 1960 at the age of thirteen, where he lived until his escape in 1996. He currently resides in Japan.

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    Reviews for A River in Darkness

    4.5/5

    694 ratings65 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be an eye-opening and engrossing story that provides insight into the harsh realities of living in a communist/socialist society. The narration is excellent and the book is highly recommended for those who want to understand life in North Korea. While the subject matter is heartbreaking and tragic, the author tells his story in a human and universal way, making it a touching and enlightening read. Overall, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the hardships faced by individuals living in extreme circumstances.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      What an incredible and depressing story.
      I hope this man and his family as well as the people of North Korea can become free.
      So very very interesting and deeply sad.
    • 5/5
      Amazing book, I was immersed into the story, horrified and feeling so sorry for the main character.
    • 5/5
      This is a must-read for those interested in North Korea. It is a wonderful illustration of the triumph of the human spirit but it is also really tragic.
    • 5/5
      Everyone needs to read this. His stories were eye opening, tragic and inspiring. The writing and pacing were perfect. Thank you for sharing your memories.
    • 5/5
      Great story and engaging story telling. The narrator gave it justice
    • 4/5
      A well translated book and the narrator did a very good job of conveying the author's words. I feel like I waited and waited for a happy ending. I looked up how the author was and the last news of him was 2003? I will still hope and pray for a better life for him.
    • 5/5
      Wow what an inspiration. This man is the pillar of strength and determination, thank you for sharing your story.
    • 5/5
      What a great tragic story. My heart goes out to this family and everyone else who is suffering in this country.
    • 5/5
      “A River in Darkness” is more than a memoir; it’s a wake-up call. It reminds us of the importance of freedom, compassion, and the resilience of the human soul. Ishikawa’s story will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page.
    • 5/5
      As someone who lives in a post-communist country, I found this book fascinating. It masterfully weaves a narrative that is both eerily similar and yet distant, evoking memories of my parents' stories of living under communism.

      Its ability to depict the human experience with such depth and authenticity makes it a great read.
    • 5/5
      Harrowing. Well written and loved the narrator, too. Difficult to believe this all happened only recently :/
    • 5/5
      An important and gut-wrenching book. The experiences this man went through are so awful, and remind everyone of the evils of communism and the tragic state of affairs that is still current in global politics today.
    • 5/5
      So sad and compelling. It makes me sick that idiots in my country think that Communism is a good idea.
    • 5/5
      very moving and so very sad an account of oppression by a genocidal regime
    • 4/5
      Incredible story. I wept, for Masaji and for humanity. Riveting.
    • 3/5
      What a sad book. At 13, Ishikawa's stupid parents move to communist North Korea from Japan. He lives a life of unimaginable poverty and starvation. A repressed regime that apparently doesn't even know how to grow Rice, manage resources, inspire productivity or feed its people.
    • 4/5
      It doesn’t feel right to say I enjoyed listening to this story of betrayal and hardship but it was utterly engrossing and confronting. How can our world contain places of such misery and human rights abuse?
    • 5/5
      Wow, what an incredible life struggle. If you want to know what is really like to live in a real life distopian society, this is your book.
      I am not the same person I was before reading this true account of what it is to, unfortunately, live in North Korea or, should I say, in Inferno. Hell on Earth.
      Shredded souls, constant starvation and abuse, just death and misery. All humanity and dignity taken out. Fear..fear everyday.
      It's shocking that regimes like this are tolerated in the Planet. Economical embargos from other countries just make North Koreans suffer even more of starvation.
      Where are the potent armies of the world? China? The Usa/South Korea?


    • 5/5
      If you want to know what it’s like to live in North Korea this is a wonderful book. Brutal
    • 2/5
      Why in God's name would you hire someone with a lisp to narrate a book?
    • 5/5
      Great to know about the life in Hell. Save them god.
    • 1/5
      I am surprised at all the 5 star reviews. Miserable moaning man, nothing but complaints and excuses, and then ended up abandoning his family. There are many fantastic and inspiring books by North Korea defectors, this was not one of them.
    • 4/5
      Good narration. I felt like the chapters could have been broken up a bit more. Most of them were 50+ minutes. I learned a lot about Japanese-Korean relations and about his story.
    • 5/5
      I wish this were fiction. But I’m so appreciative to have heard the story. The despotism of North Korea is no secret to anyone today, but this book lays out the reality for the average citizen. And it’s more bleak than I could’ve imagined. Prior to this I was also totally ignorant of the plight of Koreans living in Japan after WW2, as well as the governmentally supported “repatriation” efforts to send them to North Korea. It’s a heartbreaking read but deserves to be heard.
    • 5/5
      Excellent audiobook very well narrated. Gives an insight into living in a communist/socialist society is like. Ended wasn’t what I expected but it is a true story.
    • 5/5
      What an incredible memoir. Short but so full of emotion. What can we do? How many people starve when I gorge on Christmas treats.
    • 5/5
      absolutely heart-wrenching, when i thought it wouldnt get worsen was the moment it went bad and pierced my heart. truly a masterpiece.
    • 5/5
      Heart rending. Absolutely heart rending.
      All those stories you hear about North Korea can’t prepare you for this first-hand account of life there.
    • 5/5
      Absolutely heart-wrenching...but we all must bear witness to his story.
    • 3/5
      The ending was depressing. This was a very interesting but tragic story.