The Orphan Master's Son

by Adam Johnson

“To survive in this world, you got to be many times a coward but at least once a hero.”

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.”

“Two things about the Americans,” Dr. Song said. “First, their minds are fast, and they puzzle over everything. You must give them a riddle to redirect those minds. So we offer them the Minister. Second, they must have moral superiority. They don’t know how to negotiate without it. Always their talks open with human rights, personal freedoms, and so on. But the tiger changes all that. Their horror at the notion that we would casually eat an endangered species will immediately put them on high ground. Then we can get down to business.”