Audiobook Review - Escape From Camp 14 by Blaine Harden

Shop Indie BookstoresMy younger brother started reading Escape from Camp 14 about a month ago. My brother is the type of guy who only reads nonfiction or military based stories. He's a former marine, current police officer and he is infused with a quest for global justice. He watches news channels and the History Channel incessantly, always questioning the actions of the past, the present and constantly demanding that we, as Americans, step up to do what is right in every corner of the planet. He was incensed by what he was reading in Camp 14. He called me daily, regaling me with horrific tales from its pages and demanding that I read this book. I told him I couldn't. I told him I wouldn't. I told him that it would just upset me.

And then I thought about that. Was that a good reason for me to turn my back on the realities of the world around me? I decided it wasn't. I found the audiobook in my library (using the AWESOME OverDrive APP to download it directly to my iPhone) and borrowed it. I opted for audio for two reasons: (1) it takes me forever to read nonfiction, and (2) if it took too long to read I was sure I would walk away from it.

When I was in high school we read Night by Elie Wiesel. Before that I had read Anne Frank: The Diary of A Young Girl in middle school. Both terrified me. Both books made me question humanity. However, both of those stories existed in a past so  far removed from my life that I could live knowing it was a mistake we all learned from. I told myself that humanity knew better and that the global community would never allow something like that to happen again.

I don't know if you have picked this up yet from reading my blog, but even at thirty-six years of age, I am still terribly naive.

I am so happy I listened to this book. Although, "happy" doesn't seem to be the right word for a book that is so upsetting. Here's the thing... this book is an important read. This tragedy is going on right now on our planet and it is horrifying to contemplate. It is so easy to think that our world has progressed past such injustices when we live in cities whose major political battles are over soda sizes, but it is not. Right now, this very moment, there are people in political prisons in North Korea. Some of those people, like Shin Dong-hyuk, were born there and know nothing of our world - in fact they know nothing of their own country: they know only the prison. They know only hunger. They know only deceit, punishment and pain.

About the Book 

If you have not heard of Escape From Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West, here is a brief description:

North Korea is isolated and hungry, bankrupt and belligerent. It is also armed with nuclear weapons. Between 150,000 and 200,000 people are being held in its political prison camps, which have existed twice as long as Stalin's Soviet gulags and twelve times as long as the Nazi concentration camps. Very few born and raised in these camps have escaped. But Shin Donghyuk did.
In Escape from Camp 14, acclaimed journalist Blaine Harden tells the story of Shin Dong-hyuk and through the lens of Shin's life unlocks the secrets of the world's most repressive totalitarian state. Shin knew nothing of civilized existence-he saw his mother as a competitor for food, guards raised him to be a snitch, and he witnessed the execution of his own family. Through Harden's harrowing narrative of Shin's life and remarkable escape, he offers an unequaled inside account of one of the world's darkest nations and a riveting tale of endurance, courage, and survival.

My Review

In my opinion, Escape From Camp 14 is a must-read. Blaine Harden, who wrote the book and narrates the audiobook, does an excellent job of steeping Shin's story in facts about North Korea's politics, government and economy enabling readers to have as clear a picture as possible of what goes on behind the mysterious borders of North Korea. I appreciated the fact that Harden admitted his own skepticism about all of what Shin had to tell. His straight-talk reporting style of conveying this story provided a perfect balance to a story that is already full of enough drama and horror in its truth.

Right now, Shin Dong-hyuk's story is one of a kind. There has been no documented case of a person who was born and raised in these camps escaping. There has been no one to tell this story. It has remained a dark and evil secret. Read this book. Tell others to read this book. This is not a secret that should be kept.

Though I know not what to do, this book makes me think of this quote.

Have you read Escape From Camp 14? What did you think?

Have you ever shied away from a book because it was "too real"? If so, which book was it?