The book is Blaine Harden's "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West
Shin grows up fixated on food. He learns he will be rewarded if he snitches. He receives a very basic education by strict teachers. He is unaware of most of the outside world. He witnesses a teacher beat a girl to death because she had a few kernels of corn in her pocket. He snitches on his mother and brother and watches them being executed. All this seems normal to him as it is all he has known all his life until he meets a new prisoner from the outside.
He and the prisoner hatch a plot to escape. Shin only wants to escape so that he can get more food. During the escape attempt the other prisoner dies on an electric fence ... and Shin crawls over him to freedom. He eventually makes his way to China and freedom.
Shin's story is tragic and a bit strange. He has trouble telling all the truth to the author as he is guilty about what he had to do to survive in Camp 14. The changing story distracts from the narrative a bit making you wonder what is true and what is a fable created by Shin.
I enjoyed this read despite it's possible veering from the truth every now and then. I gave it four out of five stars on Goodreads.
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