Details
Rent The Orphan Master's Son
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Format: Unabridged-CD, Paperback
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: Jan 2012
Genre: Fiction - Literary
Retail Price: $45.00
Synopsis
An epic novel and a thrilling literary discovery, The Orphan Master's Son follows a young man's journey through the icy waters, dark tunnels, and eerie spy chambers of the world's most mysterious dictatorship, North Korea.
Pak Jun Do is the haunted son of a lost mother—a singer "stolen" to Pyongyang—and an influential father who runs Long Tomorrows, a work camp for orphans. There the boy is given his first taste of power, picking which orphans eat first and which will be lent out for manual labor. Recognized for his loyalty and keen instincts, Jun Do comes to the attention of superiors in the state, rises in the ranks, and starts on a road from which there will be no return.
Considering himself "a humble citizen of the greatest nation in the world," Jun Do becomes a professional kidnapper who must navigate the shifting rules, arbitrary violence, and baffling demands of his Korean overlords in order to stay alive. Driven to the absolute limit of what any human being could endure, he boldly takes on the treacherous role of rival to Kim Jong Il in an attempt to save the woman he loves, Sun Moon, a legendary actress "so pure, she didn't know what starving people looked like."
Part breathless thriller, part story of innocence lost, part story of romantic love, The Orphan Master's Son is also a riveting portrait of a world heretofore hidden from view: a North Korea rife with hunger, corruption, and casual cruelty but also camaraderie, stolen moments of beauty, and love. A towering literary achievement, The Orphan Master's Son ushers Adam Johnson into the small group of today's greatest writers.
From the Hardcover edition.
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Reviews
I just finished reading the Orphan Master's Son, and man what an incredible book. It is the most impactful read I’ve had in a while, probably since I read Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake trilogy. The thing that really stood out for me was the common thread of blatant disregard and intentional manipulation of science and factual evidence between the regime in the novel and Donald Trump's reality that we are living in now. Reality is so distorted that finding out the truth is of no consequence. People don’t even want the truth, they just want to survive. And the scary thing is that I can totally see that happening here. It makes me see Trump's actions in a whole new light. Instead of bumbling incompetence, it’s calculated and intentional sensationalism and misinformation designed to promote total confusion. I highly recommend this book. Although I knew next to nothing about North Korea before reading it, I am now motivated to learn more. And even though it is a work of fiction, the author Adam Johnson extensively researched North Korea for this project. He interviewed people who had defected and actually visited Pyongyang himself. Read this book, and then let's talk about it!