The Orphan Master's Son

One sentence synopsis... An imaginative portrait of a world hidden from us and the casual violence inflicted upon it's inhabitants: a North Korea rife with torture, propaganda, and innocence lost. .

Read it if you like... the writing is pretty Dickensian but the adventures are pure Fleming. .

Dream casting... Obviously Song Kang-ho as Pak Jun Do/“Commander Ga”. Let him play every character.

As a one-time resident of South Korea, I was keen to read this novel set in North Korea, and these days we all owe it to ourselves to learn more about that country and its leadership. But the first thing to remember about this book is that it is a work of fiction that takes advantage of the peculiarities of its setting. It's not strictly ABOUT North Korea. Instead, it's about one man who is trying to tell his own story and discover who he is. The pain that he endures, both physical and mental, are, in the book, real. The mental anguish would be just as real if the story were set elsewhere. So I think we have to look at the book as being one about the themes of the book: family, impostors, facades, deprivation, the lies we tell ourselves and others. And let's not worry about what the book may or may not be saying about the country of North Korea.

At first, I was impressed with this story. It began compelling and interesting. Then approximately 1/3 - 1/2 into the book, it really took a jump from well written to Pulitzer Prize-deserving. From that point, the story earned its place atop my five-star shelf. For those who have spent time interested in, or as students of North Korea, this will be particularly thrilling for you. The nature of the story seems so realistic against the true life stories shared by defectors from the DPRK. What's more, this novel was released two years prior to the release of [b:Dear Leader: Poet, Spy, Escapee—A Look Inside North Korea 20736640 Dear Leader Poet, Spy, Escapee—A Look Inside North Korea Jang Jin-sung https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397767877s/20736640.jpg 34433706] which convincingly (a true story) bears the realities of the Kim dynasty in North Korea and the mannerisms of Kim Jung-il. How Johnson came to personify Kim Jung-il with the realism he was able, verified by the Poet-Laureate of the DPRK is fabulous.