The Orphan Master's Son (Buddy Read)

[Seraphina]

This is the thread for those of us interested in reading the orphan masters son by Adam Johnson. Included is an old review from the guardian about it.
We will run the read over 3 months so there is no rush to finish (oct-dec) and the thread will of course remain open after this.
Looking forward to starting this
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012...

[Barbara]

Awesome!Thanks Seraphina. I'm glad we have til December:)

[Allan]

I might be up for this one myself, as the whole N Korean situation is one that I find fascinating.

[Seraphina]

Great. The more the merrier. I will be starting this soon enough once I've finished cleaning up after window fitters!!

[Rose]

I'm so glad this thread has opened up. This book has been nominated so many times and just hasn't managed to win... I guess I had hoped it would make it, eventually. I'm really looking forward to this conversation with such a diverse group.

[Allan]

I've just purchased the audiobook, which is another 19 hour monster, but it means that I'll get to the book earlier. I'll start it when a few others do! :)

[Marcia]

Thank you. I look forward to reading this one. It really does sound interesting and it's so much better reading a book of this type there are people to discuss it with.

[Barbara]

Marcia wrote: "Thank you. I look forward to reading this one. It really does sound interesting and it's so much better reading a book of this type there are people to discuss it with."

Agreed! I have this book - think it was a Christmas present.

[Seraphina]

I'm about half way through this and it's a horrifyingly fascinating read so far. Think of all the bad things you think of about N Korea and then magnify it by 10.

[Barbara]

I am traveling to Quebec next week and put this on my list to bring. I always bring a physical book or 2 when I travel as there are times when you cannot use an electronic device or run out of battery power.

[Donna]

I am a little more than half way through this one. It took me a while to get caught up in the story but now I can't wait to continue with it. North Korea sounds every bit as awful as I thought it would be. Just terrifying that a country could be held captive by a tyrant like Kim Jong-un.

[Barbara]

I was going to read this on my now cancelled trip but plan to pick it up as soon as I finish Nora Webster.

[Seraphina]

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/5fea23...
Article from a journalist recently allowed into north Korea on a pre-routed tour. I'm about 3/4 of the way through and had to try and find out some factual pieces about N. Korea because the book makes you feel like your on another planet at times.

[Donna]

Very interesting reading, Seraphina. I finished the book and it is still resonating in my mind. Thanks for sharing.

[Barbara]

Seraphina wrote: "http://bigstory.ap.org/article/5fea23...
Article from a journalist recently allowed into north Korea on a pre-routed tour. I'm about 3/4 of..."

This will make it easier for me to follow up on fact finding after reading this book.

[Donna]

This book is still weighing heavily on my mind, so much so that I actually had a nightmare about it. I have now added several books about North Korea to my TBR pile, as I'd like to read some factual information about the country. It's hard to know what is fact and what is fiction in The Orphan Master's Son. I look forward to reading Barbara's fact finding information when she has finished the book.

[Barbara]

I finished this yesterday and having the buddy read was a good incentive. I think I pretty much gave my impressions in my review. It really boggles my mind that the author decided to write a novel about North Korea. I am impressed that he actually visited there. Although his visit was very controlled, he was able to get a sense of the atmosphere, something that can't be gained without actually going there. This is a book that deservedly won the Pulitzer Prize. I am now reading A Constellation of Vital Phenomena. The similarity would be that it is about a society, Chechnya, under siege, where the basic life necessities - food, shelter, and clothing - are hard to come by. It shares the theme of destruction or attempted destruction of spirit as well.

[Allan]

I really enjoyed the book myself-I thought that Johnson really captured the complications and contradictions of life in the state for the ordinary citizen.

My main issue was with the likelihood of the narrative's twist with the inclusion of and interaction with the 'dear leader'-a little unlikely perhaps, but then, as Johnson says at the end, no story about N Korea would be complete without the puppet master himself.

I'm glad that this book was drawn to my attention via the buddy read as well, because it had slipped below my radar, despite the interest I have in things to do with the state.

A really interesting documentary to watch on N Korea is 'The Red Chapel', a Danish film following two Danish comedians, originally adopted from S Korea, as they attempt to expose the ludicrous nature of life in the state.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Re...

https://www.fandor.com/films/the_red_...

Another bizarre documentary was one called 'Crossing the Line', which tells the story of Joe Dresnock, who defected from US to N Korea, and ended up starring in lots of Sun Moon style films.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossi...

https://www.fandor.com/films/crossing...

Both are good companion pieces to the book for those who may be interested!

[Seraphina]

Thanks for the links Alan, I will def have a look into it. The part of the book about taking over the generals life did seem like a stretch but I think I overlooked it because the whole book had a feeling that all of it wasn't real. It was like someone had written a book about a different planet with all these crazy rules and a nutjob of a leader.
I thought his writing style was excellent, he really draws you in and gives you exact images of the places.
Based on his interview alot of what he wrote was based on factual accounts and interviews except for the excerpts from the interrogator.
Really glad I got around to reading it cause likewise it probably would have been sitting on my shelves still only for the buddy read

[Donna]

How long does this stay open before we can discuss specific things we found interesting in the book? I don't want to give away spoilers to those who are still reading or plan to read it.

Still thinking about this book.

[Allan]

This news article from this evening says a lot about the paranoia and isolation of the state.

In North Korea, fear takes hold over new foreign threat: Ebola

http://gu.com/p/43xcx

[Seraphina]

Donna feel free to discuss any elements. The read is ongoing until December but looking over at all the other buddy reads, they all contain spoilers.
Just maybe highlight a SPOILER ALERT in your comment

[Marcia]

I started reading this book and then stopped as I found the main character depressing. I may pick it up again later when I've read some lighter books I hope. I still think I would like to read it but not right now.

[Seraphina]

The main character is only early on in the book Marcia, it changes narrator. I would def perceiver with this one, it's a good read

[Marcia]

OK, I assumed it was the same narrator through out the book. In that case I will take another look when I finish the trashy book I'm currently reading. It is soooooo trashy that I'm skipping bits so that I can get to the end of it. I want to see what happens.

[Marcia]

I think I'm going to lay it down for a bit. I would like to get back to it but I'm finding it just isn't grabbing me at the moment. I think I will read something lighter and then come back to it maybe. It is just starting to a little bit more interesting.

[Donna]

I had another nightmare where I was trapped in North Korea and the highest ranking official stamped my papers so that I could leave and then changed his mind and tore them up in front of me. We then set him on fire and killed him and that's where I woke up. This book has really attached itself to my subconscious.

[Barbara]

I realized I never posted here. I read the book in the past month and it's one that will stay with me. Now with the broohaha over the film The Interview, I feel better informed as to the reality of life in North Korea.

[[deleted user]]

Allan, (and anyone else who has read Barbara Demick) having read the non-fiction work Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea how did you get on with The Orphan Master's Son? Once I've read a non-fiction work on a subject I usually can't settle to a fictionalised account in the setting.