mundinova's review against another edition
5.0
Story: 5 stars
Character Development: 5 stars
Prose/Language: 5 stars
“The truth is, though, that you don't need to die to know what it's like to be a ghost.”
A collection of six short stories, all with a similar theme: What happens after?
What happens after two North Korean's defect to South Korea? What happens to a new father, displaced and unsure, after Hurricane Katrina ? What happens after the Berlin wall comes down and all the rules you worked so hard to follow become historical atrocities? What happens after a debilitating disease takes over your spouse's body, making it hard to continue living? And scariest of all, what happens after repeat childhood traumas create an adult pedophile, trying to recover and live a peaceful life?
Each story was unique with "good" and "bad" characters that were fully fleshed out and realized. Johnson is able to put the reader into the shoes of anyone and make us sympathize with them - even if we really don't want to.
Highly recommend this collection to anyone who likes Michael Chabon, Anthony Doerr, and Jeffrey Eugenides.
Character Development: 5 stars
Prose/Language: 5 stars
“The truth is, though, that you don't need to die to know what it's like to be a ghost.”
A collection of six short stories, all with a similar theme: What happens after?
What happens after two North Korean's defect to South Korea? What happens to a new father, displaced and unsure, after Hurricane Katrina ? What happens after the Berlin wall comes down and all the rules you worked so hard to follow become historical atrocities? What happens after a debilitating disease takes over your spouse's body, making it hard to continue living? And scariest of all, what happens after repeat childhood traumas create an adult pedophile, trying to recover and live a peaceful life?
Each story was unique with "good" and "bad" characters that were fully fleshed out and realized. Johnson is able to put the reader into the shoes of anyone and make us sympathize with them - even if we really don't want to.
Highly recommend this collection to anyone who likes Michael Chabon, Anthony Doerr, and Jeffrey Eugenides.
brettpet's review against another edition
3.0
The Orphan Master's Son is one of the best books I've read all year. After learning that Adam Johnson has a woefully small bibliography, I decided to give one of his few available books Fortune Smiles a try. Despite being a short story collection rather than a watertight novel, I found it to be an introspective yet challenging read. The subject matter throughout Smiles is bleak and displays the worst in characters far more often than the best. I figured the easiest way to get through this review is just to discuss each story on its own, from my favorite to least favorite.
"Fortune Smiles" is the titular story and also my favorite one here. Yes, it is extremely similar to Son, but I think its separate discussion on North Korean defectors trying to find meaning in South Korea touches on worthwhile topics even if you've read Johnson's masterpiece. The main characters, DJ and Sun-ho, feel the most organic out of any other character in this collection--coming from extremely different backgrounds in NK but finding themselves sticking together (no matter how toxic Sun-ho is) in the relative chaos of Seoul. The exchange between Sun-ho and the other defector who is sending paraphernalia balloons across the border is brilliant, and the ending is amazingly cartoonish and surreal.
"George Orwell Was a Friend of Mine" was a lot of people's favorite story and I liked it quite a bit as well. It feels very Kurt Vonnegut: a retired Stasi prison higher-up lives a block from his old prison for decades, reflecting on his time there after the disappearance of his wife and quickly falling into pitfalls with historical experts and other former prisoners. Overall a beautiful story discussing the idea of "history is written by the victors" and the way one's actions can inadvertently haunt them.
"Interesting Facts" is a powerful story dealing directly with the issues in Johnson's marriage after his wife's breast cancer diagnosis. It paints the author as a hypocrite and ethically ambiguous person, which I'm sure is a very difficult way to write about one's self. This story feels very 50/50 split between fact and fiction, and it was one of the most interesting ones for me in that regard.
As much as I disliked the subject matter in "Dark Meadow", its extremely impressive that Johnson was able to write about a topic that most writers would never want to touch. I'm sure this was the most challenging story to get right here, but presumably one I would skip if I was rereading the collection.
"Hurricanes Anonymous" had a great setting and intriguing mystery concerning Nonc's father and the fate of Marine, but the ending fell flat for me. Nonc and Relle's relationship felt too briefly established and I think there wasn't enough discussion on the role the service industry plays in the time of crisis (relatable nowadays with COVID or the Texas power issues this year). You could center a discussion around Nonc being kept afloat by his job, which provides employment during a devastation period and a literal home for Geronimo, but I think the ending could have been more conclusive.
"Nirvana" gets the short end of the stick by being one of the shortest stories and the first, which is unfortunate because it doesn't really set the tone of the collection (aside from "bleak"). Its the most Black Mirror story here, dealing with advanced technology in a time of tragedy, but I didn't like the main character at all. His relationship with his wife is purposefully frustrating and neglectful, and I just felt like this needed to be longer to salvage the ideas here.
I'm glad I checked out Fortune Smiles but I don't see myself rereading it, opting instead for a collection like Land of Big Numbers or just diving into The Orphan Master's Son again. Hoping we get another full-length work from him sooner rather later!
"Fortune Smiles" is the titular story and also my favorite one here. Yes, it is extremely similar to Son, but I think its separate discussion on North Korean defectors trying to find meaning in South Korea touches on worthwhile topics even if you've read Johnson's masterpiece. The main characters, DJ and Sun-ho, feel the most organic out of any other character in this collection--coming from extremely different backgrounds in NK but finding themselves sticking together (no matter how toxic Sun-ho is) in the relative chaos of Seoul. The exchange between Sun-ho and the other defector who is sending paraphernalia balloons across the border is brilliant, and the ending is amazingly cartoonish and surreal.
"George Orwell Was a Friend of Mine" was a lot of people's favorite story and I liked it quite a bit as well. It feels very Kurt Vonnegut: a retired Stasi prison higher-up lives a block from his old prison for decades, reflecting on his time there after the disappearance of his wife and quickly falling into pitfalls with historical experts and other former prisoners. Overall a beautiful story discussing the idea of "history is written by the victors" and the way one's actions can inadvertently haunt them.
"Interesting Facts" is a powerful story dealing directly with the issues in Johnson's marriage after his wife's breast cancer diagnosis. It paints the author as a hypocrite and ethically ambiguous person, which I'm sure is a very difficult way to write about one's self. This story feels very 50/50 split between fact and fiction, and it was one of the most interesting ones for me in that regard.
As much as I disliked the subject matter in "Dark Meadow", its extremely impressive that Johnson was able to write about a topic that most writers would never want to touch. I'm sure this was the most challenging story to get right here, but presumably one I would skip if I was rereading the collection.
"Hurricanes Anonymous" had a great setting and intriguing mystery concerning Nonc's father and the fate of Marine, but the ending fell flat for me. Nonc and Relle's relationship felt too briefly established and I think there wasn't enough discussion on the role the service industry plays in the time of crisis (relatable nowadays with COVID or the Texas power issues this year). You could center a discussion around Nonc being kept afloat by his job, which provides employment during a devastation period and a literal home for Geronimo, but I think the ending could have been more conclusive.
"Nirvana" gets the short end of the stick by being one of the shortest stories and the first, which is unfortunate because it doesn't really set the tone of the collection (aside from "bleak"). Its the most Black Mirror story here, dealing with advanced technology in a time of tragedy, but I didn't like the main character at all. His relationship with his wife is purposefully frustrating and neglectful, and I just felt like this needed to be longer to salvage the ideas here.
I'm glad I checked out Fortune Smiles but I don't see myself rereading it, opting instead for a collection like Land of Big Numbers or just diving into The Orphan Master's Son again. Hoping we get another full-length work from him sooner rather later!
caity88's review against another edition
5.0
Not usually a short story fan, but I LOVED most of these. There were a few that I wasn't as excited about, but overall they were great.
600bars's review against another edition
2.0
Hmm many of these reminded me directly of black mirror episodes particularly the hologram president one & the pedophile one. The lovely bones ghosty cancer one was the exact definition of that one tweet that says “male authors be like: she breasted boobily across the room, her bosoms bouncing gently”. Some of them were like less annoying Chuck Palahniuk books
tonythep's review against another edition
5.0
The stories in Adam Johnson's new collection are simply stunning. He takes the reader to emotional heights (or perhaps depths) that I had not thought possible. Like one of his most unforgettable characters, he is prepared to face the darkness with only a dim headlamp to guide the way. The writing here is fearless. (It activates!")
elusivity's review against another edition
4.0
In the face of overwhelming pain and despair, even the slimmest thread of hope or distraction is precious. Heartbreaking and beautiful.
dunigan's review against another edition
4.0
A bleak but interesting short story collection. Though there's no real theme between the short stories in this collection, they all do have a feeling of bleak hopelessness in common. From North Korean defectors struggling to adjust to a man figuring out life with his newly paralyzed wife, joy is hard to come by in the stories. I appreciate that Johnson is willing to deal with the tragedy and struggle in his stories head on—he doesn't shy away from writing some really tough, heart-wrenching scenes and his stories are better for it. There were six stories in the book and they were all pretty long. There weren't any clunkers which was a nice change from some of the short story collections I've read.
Ranking of the stories
1. Fortune Smiles
2. George Orwell was a Friend of Mine
3. Nirvana
4. Interesting Facts
5. Dark Meadow
6. Hurricanes Anonymous
Ranking of the stories
1. Fortune Smiles
2. George Orwell was a Friend of Mine
3. Nirvana
4. Interesting Facts
5. Dark Meadow
6. Hurricanes Anonymous
audjmo91's review
5.0
Y'know, each of these stories is longer than your typical short story, but they are all deeply engrossing and the worlds they have built are exhilarating.
If I had to rank them (there are only 6), I think I would say my favorite was, "George Orwell Was a Friend of Mine," followed by "Interesting Facts," "Hurricanes Anonymous," "Dark Meadow," "Nirvana," and "Fortune Smiles." The Stasi prison guard's tale will stick with me for a very long time, and is the primary reason I recommended the collection to someone else.
One final note: I admit I was a little pained to realize (there is an interview and some discussion questions in the back of my edition) that "Interesting Facts" was semi-autobiographical. Told from the perspective of his wife who herself had cancer, that story puts you so soundly on her side and in her perspective, and thus I couldn't help but resent Johnson a little for telling it. All the same, 5 stars.
If I had to rank them (there are only 6), I think I would say my favorite was, "George Orwell Was a Friend of Mine," followed by "Interesting Facts," "Hurricanes Anonymous," "Dark Meadow," "Nirvana," and "Fortune Smiles." The Stasi prison guard's tale will stick with me for a very long time, and is the primary reason I recommended the collection to someone else.
One final note: I admit I was a little pained to realize (there is an interview and some discussion questions in the back of my edition) that "Interesting Facts" was semi-autobiographical. Told from the perspective of his wife who herself had cancer, that story puts you so soundly on her side and in her perspective, and thus I couldn't help but resent Johnson a little for telling it. All the same, 5 stars.
lifeinpoetry's review against another edition
5.0
"Dark Meadow," "George Orwell Was a Friend of Mine," and "Interesting Facts" were stunning.
kochella's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars. Adam Johnson is a genius. The six short stories in this collection present unforgettably weird, contradictory, fallible and sympathetic characters who you pass on the street every day (and don't really want to know). Absolutely BRILLIANT character studies.
I only shaved half a star because there were a couple stories I liked less than the others. Overall, this is dazzling, insightful work.
I only shaved half a star because there were a couple stories I liked less than the others. Overall, this is dazzling, insightful work.