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The Orphan Master's Son

Adam Johnson

Start date: December 15, 2013

Finish date: January 15, 2014

Discussion: Reading List

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What Members Thought

Nov 01, 2011 Jenny (Reading Envy) rated it really liked it

Shelves: around-the-world, read2012, international-book-club, own, tournament-of-books, location-korea

This book was a slow burn, and dense to read, but in the end, completely worth it. The first half is the story of Jun Do, from orphan in North Korea to kidnapper to spy; the second half interweaves his continued bizarre story with an interrogator and the loudspeakers that spin every event to the Dear Leader's favor (Kim Jong Il). Time ceases to be linear at that point, and it takes a while to unravel the events from the characters.

It was interesting to have an element of the characters living in This book was a slow burn, and dense to read, but in the end, completely worth it. The first half is the story of Jun Do, from orphan in North Korea to kidnapper to spy; the second half interweaves his continued bizarre story with an interrogator and the loudspeakers that spin every event to the Dear Leader's favor (Kim Jong Il). Time ceases to be linear at that point, and it takes a while to unravel the events from the characters.

It was interesting to have an element of the characters living in self-delusion, where the reader knows better, and even they know better, but for survival they go through crazy lies on a daily basis. This is particularly true of Jun Do, as he minimizes the description of what is actually going on, but the reader has to read between the lines. It smacks of other dystopian novels, reminding me of Orwell, and Lem, and Zamyatin. Except this is an attempt at a portrayal of a society that could be like this. I'm not going to say this book taught me about North Korea as other reviewers have done. This is a work of fiction. But so many of the stories we hear are bizarre, and this book attempts to explain some of them (in a sometimes humorous way). In fact, humor is an important element throughout The Orphan Master's Son, but more in the sense that you have to laugh or you'll cry. Oppression is ridiculous insanity.

One of the best moments is when Jun Do gets sent to Texas for a state visit, very funny because of the misunderstandings and assumptions on both sides.

"Where we are from, stories are factual. If a farmer is declared a music virtuoso by the state, everyone had better start calling him maestro. And secretly, he'd be wise to start practicing the piano. For us, the story is more important than the person. If a man and his story are in conflict, it is the man who must change."

"...The sensation was allowed to rise up, up into his brain, and it was okay to perceive again, to recognize forgotten parts of his body as they hailed him. His lungs were more than air bellows. His heart, he believed now, could do more than move blood."

"The Americans have the saying 'Time heals all wounds.' But this is not true. Experiments have shown that healing is hastened only by self-criticism sessions, the inspirational tracts of Kim Jon Il, and replacement persons. So when the Dear Leader gives you a new husband, give yourself to him!" (loudspeaker) ...more

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May 18, 2020 Robert rated it liked it

Shelves: want-to-read-soon

I really enjoyed the story and the characterization, but the print was tiny. I do the bulk of my reading at night before going to sleep, so this is not the greatest time or place in which to be dealing with tiny print. It certainly taught me something, because I won't be selecting an "end the day" sort of book to read that isn't more readable at any point in the future. I guess I can honestly say that in this particular regard, the book taught me something.

It also taught me something in terms o ...more

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Oct 25, 2014 Beverly rated it liked it

I must be the only person on the planet who thought this Pulitzer Prize winning tome was a comedy! It read like Batman or Superman exploits
with lots of violence and lots of bizarre and nearly unbelievable events....but just close enough to what we've heard about the crazies who actually run North Korea to be true.

The characters have no ownership of self; everything and everyone belongs to the State, so it makes for this very difficult story about a main character for whom you can feel almost n ...more

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May 04, 2012 Ruth rated it did not like it

Shelves: dof-didnotfinish

After an interesting start, this book deteriorates into I-wanna-be-a-bestsellerdom. The more invincible our hero becomes the more implausible the plot.

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Apr 23, 2013 Yulia rated it it was ok

I wanted to like this novel. The concept had such potential, to explore the lives of North Koreans and portray how government propaganda and the idolization of a leader can erase identity and free will and kill trust, intimacy and any semblance of honesty. But I found the work so awkward and disjointed and had difficulty taking seriously the storyline throughout the work. Yes, it was meant to show how ever life there is a fiction created by the state, as Adam Johnson explains in his Author's Not ...more

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Dec 15, 2012 Riv rated it really liked it

Wow...as confusing as the chronology was, it really did all come together at the end... I found almost every character to be compelling even when I couldn't tell who was who. How much of the portrait of North Korea is truth or fiction, very few will ever know. (Though some non fiction on the topic is added to my reading list.) If it is truth, it is extremely disheartening.

This was well worth the mental energy invested. ...more

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