Author: JM Lee
Translated by: Kim Chi-young
Publisher: Pegasus, 2018
Original title: 천국의 소년
Link to online store *
An unidentified body is discovered in New York City, with numbers and symbols are written in blood near the corpse. Gil-mo, a North Korean national who interprets the world through numbers, formulas, and mathematical theories, is arrested on the spot. Angela, a CIA operative, is assigned to gain his trust and access his unique persona.
In The Boy Who Escaped Paradise, celebrated author J. M. Lee delves into a hidden world filled with vivid characters trapped by ideology, greed, and despair. Gil-mo’s saga forces the reader to question the line between good and evil, truth and falsehood, and captivity and freedom.
LKL says:
A maths genius has to defect from North Korea. How is he connected with a murder committed in Queens, NYC?
LKL rating: 
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Entry on Goodreads.com here.
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