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

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about A River in Darkness, please sign up.

Answered Questions (10)

Will the author of this book receive the royalties from the sales which he so greatly deserves? Who helped him to get his story written?

Lo That's a good question. I also wondered if there might be negative consequences for him having this published, since the Japanese government seemed ag…moreThat's a good question. I also wondered if there might be negative consequences for him having this published, since the Japanese government seemed against him telling the story of his escape from China, and he still lives in Japan.

This was published through AmazonCrossing, which is a translation service that Amazon runs that I'd never heard of before. This explains why there have been so many foreign Kindle First selections over the past year! There's an article about it here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...

So Amazon invited the author to submit the work, and the two translators are freelancers working for Amazon. It's a total mystery how they heard about the story... maybe it was originally published in Korean or Japanese, but I don't know either language and so can't really look. The author is presumably getting paid like any other Kindle direct self-publisher, thought probably not a ton of money. It's a fair question, though, whether the author is doing all this himself, or if someone is helping/exploiting him.

Hopefully someone will come along with more info! I'd love to see an interview with the author, but haven't found anything yet.(less)

flag

I'm left with a strange feeling after reading this. According to his own story he has broken his agreement with the Japanese government by publishing this. This leads to one of three conclusions: 1) The author had permission to publish, but it was not disclosed in the book, 2) He published surreptitiously, or 3) This is a work of fiction. Which is it?

Shannon In the Copyright area of my Kindle book, it says that he changed some names, withheld some details, and used a pen name...all to protect his family an…moreIn the Copyright area of my Kindle book, it says that he changed some names, withheld some details, and used a pen name...all to protect his family and friends back in North Korea. "Otherwise, all the events described in this book happened as he remembers them, or was told about them by others"

(less)

flag

Id love to hear more about what author is doing now. Did he ever get in touch with his children left in North Korea?

Anshul Gupta https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/200...

flag

Is the author still alive and living in Japan? How did this book come to be? Is there any hope he will be reunited with any of his family still in North Korea?

Senshin https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/200...

flag

This book was first published in 2000. Eighteen years have passed since. What happened? Did any of Mr. Ishikawa's North Korean family survive? Was he reunited with his children? This story is not finished.

Rob BW The only piece of update I could find online is from a Wall Street Journal book review, by Melanie Kirkpatrick from Feb 6 2018:
"[Mr. Ishikawa’s] liter…moreThe only piece of update I could find online is from a Wall Street Journal book review, by Melanie Kirkpatrick from Feb 6 2018:
"[Mr. Ishikawa’s] literary agent in Japan tells me that the author learned recently that one son is dead and the other is presumed so."
Link: https://www.wsj.com/articles/review-b...

Since the surge of interest in this book is recent and still peaking, there is still hope that some media venue would pick up the glove and reach the author for a more elaborate update. However, I wouldn't be expecting any good news.(less)

flag

Load 5 more questions