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A review by richardrbecker
The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The Orphan Master's Son is a beautifully written story that shares the power of stories. Set in the unlikely location of North Korea, Adam Johnson intertwines propaganda, identity, and the power of the state to tell a mesmerizing and adventurous tale about a boy who rises from the ranks of orphans (despite not being an orphan) to assume the identity of a North Korean hero and rival of Kim Jong-il.
Divided into two parts, The Biography of Jun Do and The Confessions of Commander Ga, The Orphan Masters Son begins with the conscription of Pak Jun Do at the age of fourteen to fight in dark underground tunnels. Later, he becomes a kidnapper of Japanese citizens and a signal operator on a fishing boat.
It's on the fishing boat that Pak Jun Do learns the power of stories as his captain and shipmate reshape real experiences into something akin to the propaganda that citizens are required to listen to and absorb regularly — everything from doves flocking to Kim Jong-il to provide him shade to the treacherous and decrepit misdeeds of capitalist Americans. Whatever happens on the ship is retold to extol the virtues of everything North Korean, including shrimp that jump into nets for the benefit of being caught by Kim Jong-il's birthday.
When one of the stories catapults Pak Jun Do to hero status, he quickly learns how fragile one's existence is in North Korea. When a mission to the United States is deemed a failure, he and other delegation members are sent to work in prison mines. It is there Pak Jun Do is given an opportunity to allow the power of story and a people beholden to those in power to his advantage.
As a whole, the novel opens a frightening window on North Korea, tenderly explores love and sacrifice, and also, if you listen carefully, demonstrates how America is somewhat reliant on the same willingness to believe that its way is right and another way wrong. Listening to modern press secretaries explain away facts today may even make The Orphan Master's son more poignant than it was ten years ago.
While it just misses being added to my favorite books, it is one I'll carry with me for a long time.
Divided into two parts, The Biography of Jun Do and The Confessions of Commander Ga, The Orphan Masters Son begins with the conscription of Pak Jun Do at the age of fourteen to fight in dark underground tunnels. Later, he becomes a kidnapper of Japanese citizens and a signal operator on a fishing boat.
It's on the fishing boat that Pak Jun Do learns the power of stories as his captain and shipmate reshape real experiences into something akin to the propaganda that citizens are required to listen to and absorb regularly — everything from doves flocking to Kim Jong-il to provide him shade to the treacherous and decrepit misdeeds of capitalist Americans. Whatever happens on the ship is retold to extol the virtues of everything North Korean, including shrimp that jump into nets for the benefit of being caught by Kim Jong-il's birthday.
When one of the stories catapults Pak Jun Do to hero status, he quickly learns how fragile one's existence is in North Korea. When a mission to the United States is deemed a failure, he and other delegation members are sent to work in prison mines. It is there Pak Jun Do is given an opportunity to allow the power of story and a people beholden to those in power to his advantage.
As a whole, the novel opens a frightening window on North Korea, tenderly explores love and sacrifice, and also, if you listen carefully, demonstrates how America is somewhat reliant on the same willingness to believe that its way is right and another way wrong. Listening to modern press secretaries explain away facts today may even make The Orphan Master's son more poignant than it was ten years ago.
While it just misses being added to my favorite books, it is one I'll carry with me for a long time.