A review by brettpet
The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson
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."