kilkilshah's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing book. It is a heavy book and sometimes I had to put the book down for a couple of days to prepare myself for what was to come. I am not sure how much the author made up about North Korea but even if this book is 10% true it is a shocking view into life in the country. The book gives a glimpse into many different parts of life in North Korea while keeping a coherent story. Very well written - highly recommended.
laviskrg's review against another edition
5.0
At the moment, I am inconsolable. Heartbroken. Review WILL come soon, when not at work
ktxx22's review against another edition
4.0
Spend time in North Korea at the dawn of the current communist regime. This book was wildly entertaining, dark, and a whole rollercoaster of emotion and endurance. I was surprised how quickly this long book flew by whilst reading.
brettpet's review against another edition
5.0
During my 2017 study abroad trip to South Korea, I actually had the chance to visit the Korean Demilitarized Zone (much to the disdain of my family). Even though I only saw one North Korean guard in the flesh and was only able to step into the DMZ for a few minutes, it was an utterly surreal experience. North Korea is just something you don't usually talk about (especially when I was South Korea), much less something the average American thinks about regularly. I feel like that's what makes this book so special: it breathes life into an unknown world. The liberties that Adam Johnson takes with the story never feel overly fanciful, and I thought the characters reacted to their environment in ways that may seem unorthodox to a Westerner, but entirely believable within the context of NK.
I absolutely love books with unreliable narrators, and this story thrives based off of it's many warped points of views. You have the initial third-person section centering around Jun Do, the unnamed interrogator's constant moral dilemmas and fight against obsolescence, and the soap opera-like propaganda that dramatizes the slow-build of Commander Ga and Sun Moon's relationship. The initial concerning Commander Ga's identity is perfect for this story—only in North Korea could such a grift manifest itself.
I also really appreciated the constant change in scenery, which provided so much added depth to the way I was picturing North Korea. There's the fishing boat, the Dear Leader's underground complex of bunkers, the deadly beauty of the prison mine/camp, the residential apartments of the interrogator's parents (made comical and tragic by the "Grass to Meat" campaign), the diplomatic visit to Texas, the estate of Sun Moon and Ga...the list goes on. I also want to commend the circular nature of the novel—every little detail seems to come into play at unexpected times in the story (e.g.). I think my only nitpick about the story was that Jun Do was allowed to return to North Korea with a ?
The Orphan Master's Son is perhaps the finest Pulitzer winner that I have read to date. It's grisly, emotional, serious, and hilarious, and I think it's one of the best literary thrillers I've ever experienced. It's hard to imagine usurping The Sympathizer as my personal favorite Pulitzer winner/book of all time, but Son comes pretty damn close.
"What have I managed?" he asked.
Comrade Buc gestured at the car, the house. "This," he said. "What you're doing."
"What am I doing?"
"There's no name for it," Buc said. "There's no name because no one's ever done it before."
I absolutely love books with unreliable narrators, and this story thrives based off of it's many warped points of views. You have the initial third-person section centering around Jun Do, the unnamed interrogator's constant moral dilemmas and fight against obsolescence, and the soap opera-like propaganda that dramatizes the slow-build of Commander Ga and Sun Moon's relationship. The initial
Spoiler
The Prestige-like twistI also really appreciated the constant change in scenery, which provided so much added depth to the way I was picturing North Korea. There's the fishing boat, the Dear Leader's underground complex of bunkers, the deadly beauty of the prison mine/camp, the residential apartments of the interrogator's parents (made comical and tragic by the "Grass to Meat" campaign), the diplomatic visit to Texas, the estate of Sun Moon and Ga...the list goes on. I also want to commend the circular nature of the novel—every little detail seems to come into play at unexpected times in the story (e.g.
Spoiler
Brando, the American rower, Sun Moon's acting careerSpoiler
camera, even despite it not workingThe Orphan Master's Son is perhaps the finest Pulitzer winner that I have read to date. It's grisly, emotional, serious, and hilarious, and I think it's one of the best literary thrillers I've ever experienced. It's hard to imagine usurping The Sympathizer as my personal favorite Pulitzer winner/book of all time, but Son comes pretty damn close.
"What have I managed?" he asked.
Comrade Buc gestured at the car, the house. "This," he said. "What you're doing."
"What am I doing?"
"There's no name for it," Buc said. "There's no name because no one's ever done it before."
gorecki's review against another edition
1.0
Satire is definitely not my thing. I'm very sorry to say this, but if it weren't for the audio book I would have dnf-ed this very early on...
moonshake's review against another edition
3.0
north korean forrest gump. interpret that however you want. the ending really got me though.
susanw's review against another edition
3.0
I did sort of like this book, the first half I found very slow and continued reading only due to the very good buzz I had heard. The second half made up for any doubt. It was much more engaging and it's story kept me reading. But I really couldn't tell what was true and what the author invented with regards to North Korea. While I can't say I enjoyed the book, as the topic was far from enjoyable, I am glad I read it. Is it really a 4 star, no probably a 3.5 Would I recommend it? Guardedly.
madisonboboltz's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. What a masterpiece. I'm so glad I challenged myself with this book. It was kind of hard to get through, like a book you might have to read for school, but totally worth it!
It's Charles Dickens+George Orwell+Anthony Doerr. AMAZING. Totally deserving of the Pulitzer. Just as the back of the book suggests, "Adam Johnson provides a riveting portrait of a world rife with hunger, corruption, and casual cruelty but also camaraderie, stolen moments of beauty, and love."
It might take me a few days to process all of the feelings and emotions I have from reading this.
It's Charles Dickens+George Orwell+Anthony Doerr. AMAZING. Totally deserving of the Pulitzer. Just as the back of the book suggests, "Adam Johnson provides a riveting portrait of a world rife with hunger, corruption, and casual cruelty but also camaraderie, stolen moments of beauty, and love."
It might take me a few days to process all of the feelings and emotions I have from reading this.
internationalkris's review against another edition
4.0
The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson has naturally been on my radar since winning the Pulitzer last year, though I had my doubts as the author hales solidly from the US (Arizona by way of South Dakota). I lived in South Korea for 4 years and have read some great non-fiction about the North such as Barbara Demick’s Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives of North Koreas. Consequently, as I opened the book that is what I was searching for – insight into North Korea; the truth of the hermit kingdom. With Orphan Master you get that, but in the way that all good fiction brings it; through metaphor and mood, and visceral scenes. North Korea itself was definitely the primary character in the book for me but almost equal was the wonderful Jun Do – maybe an orphan, maybe a favorite of his fatherland, maybe just a puppet of the gods. So much more of a hero to me than Winston Smith of 1984 (I definitely agree with others that this is an apt comparison), I was proud of every move that Jun Do chose through this story and was rooting for him all the way. This was a book that kept me up at night considering the layers of meaning that could be found in the title, the levels of sacrifice and loyalty that were shown by a former neglected child, the depth of inhumanity portrayed in the book that we know is owned by all us as part of the human psyche. What a vision, what a mirror, what a fabulous adventure it was.
nakedsushi's review against another edition
3.0
The Orphan Master's Son is first about storytelling and how to define truth. The Orphan Master's Son is second about North Korea. A very distant second. After reading the book, it seems like North Korea was just a convenient setting for Adam Johnson to use for his stories.
I had many problems with this book from the start. Something about the characters and the setting felt off. No, not in a "North Korea seems so foreign and authoritarian" kind of way. More like a "this is a story about North Koreas starring Americans playing Koreans. The dialogue and the way the characters responded to events rang false. I haven't met a whole lot of North Koreans, but I known a fair number of Americans and the key characters in here were very American.
My other problem with the book was that it dragged on toward the end of the first half and most of the second half. The main reason I put off finishing the book was that I was just bored of waiting for the story to pick up its pace again. I appreciated how Johnson made Il's North Korea seem like some dystopian state straight out of 1984, but I also found his writing heavy-handed.
The book wasn't exactly a pleasant read either. There are many heart-breaking things that people have to endure and what makes it worse is that even though it's fiction in the book, I know that real people have really to go through the same things and worse. It's not something you really relish thinking about.
If the Orphan Master's Son had been paced better, I would have said that the ending redeemed the rest of the book, but it's hard to say that after slogging through the whole middle section. I had been waiting so long for the story to finally get back on track that by the time it came, I was just fed up.
I had many problems with this book from the start. Something about the characters and the setting felt off. No, not in a "North Korea seems so foreign and authoritarian" kind of way. More like a "this is a story about North Koreas starring Americans playing Koreans. The dialogue and the way the characters responded to events rang false. I haven't met a whole lot of North Koreans, but I known a fair number of Americans and the key characters in here were very American.
My other problem with the book was that it dragged on toward the end of the first half and most of the second half. The main reason I put off finishing the book was that I was just bored of waiting for the story to pick up its pace again. I appreciated how Johnson made Il's North Korea seem like some dystopian state straight out of 1984, but I also found his writing heavy-handed.
The book wasn't exactly a pleasant read either. There are many heart-breaking things that people have to endure and what makes it worse is that even though it's fiction in the book, I know that real people have really to go through the same things and worse. It's not something you really relish thinking about.
If the Orphan Master's Son had been paced better, I would have said that the ending redeemed the rest of the book, but it's hard to say that after slogging through the whole middle section. I had been waiting so long for the story to finally get back on track that by the time it came, I was just fed up.