Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson

12 reviews

carojust's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

It's hard to prepare for tragedy at this scale. As you read this book, there's a constant tension of fiction and fact, and it's sobering to accept that much of this is documented testimony of a totalitarian regime. 

The protagonist is Jun Do, who's immediately misidentified as an orphan. This theme of identity is beautifully expanded upon by Adam Johnson, in a place where citizens have no sense of self, other than their service to their leader. Jun Do lives many lives this way, as he serves competently as a tunnel leader, kidnapper, spy, sailor, translator and eventually commander. Through him, we see brutality, loneliness, fear, and loyalty in different forms. There are small moments of compassion that are enough to help him survive, and understand love and family; he's a child, a blank slate in this way. Johnson uses darkness and blindness as a constant reminder of how the country's people are unknowing, kept in a state of confusion, helpless, and denied the outside world or notions of it. 

It's a lot to get through emotionally, and I had to take my time with this one. I recommend it for perspective on a society so alien to us, and us to them, that unsettles you to your core.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

guinness74's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Terrifying in several ways, the book still manages to evoke sympathetic emotion for many of the characters. It suffers a bit from a collection of unreliable narrators, but gradually I was able to discern the story that Johnson desired to portray. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content and Kidnapping

leticiasmugala's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Forced institutionalization

fkshg8465's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I had to take my time with this one. It was dense, and I felt a lot of conflicting emotions, being Korean myself. I remembered my own introduction to both Korean and US propaganda of the North when I was in middle school and being filled with compassion and so many unanswerable questions. I remember my trip to the DMZ too. So I had a lot to sort through while reading this book. 

It was also one of the strangest and most haunting books I’ve ever read. It will stay with me for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

palaris's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I read this book because it was Pulitzer prize winner, and I'm fascinated by North Korea. I've read a lot of non-fiction accounts of life in North Korea, but I'm surprised I'd never heard of this book before.
It was a great read. Really glad I stuck with it, because it's slow to start, but by the end, especially once you get to the second half, it picks up steam and the pieces start coming together.
It definitely felt like a drama book, I feel like some of the aspects of North Korean culture were dramatized for the book, based on my reading of non-fiction accounts, but I think that's fair.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Torture

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Violence, Murder, and War

Minor: Homophobia, Rape, and Sexual assault

bethw009's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, and Violence

wifeslife's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

jonmayb's review against another edition

challenging sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a truly enjoyable read. The story was compelling and engaging, however it was tedious and dragged on at times, and it wasn't always clear what was going on. Additionally, my main qualm with this book is that Johnson based it off of a tour he took of North Korea. Kim Jong-Il is even a prominent character in the book. It can be nearly certain that Johnson's depiction of North Korea isn't entirely accurate, nor is his depiction of Kim Jong-Il. While for the most part, I enjoyed reading it, I found myself having to pretend I was reading a story about a man living in a fictional country with a fictional dictator to not feel slightly uncomfortable reading it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Trafficking

dongchiot's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

nessazee's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, War, and Injury/Injury detail