The Orphan Master's Son in Around the World

Nov 01, 2011 Jenny (Reading Envy) rated it really liked it

Shelves: location-korea, own, tournament-of-books, around-the-world, international-book-club, read2012

This book was a slow burn, and dense to read, but in the end, completely worth it. The first half is the story of Jun Do, from orphan in North Korea to kidnapper to spy; the second half interweaves his continued bizarre story with an interrogator and the loudspeakers that spin every event to the Dear Leader's favor (Kim Jong Il). Time ceases to be linear at that point, and it takes a while to unravel the events from the characters.

It was interesting to have an element of the characters living in This book was a slow burn, and dense to read, but in the end, completely worth it. The first half is the story of Jun Do, from orphan in North Korea to kidnapper to spy; the second half interweaves his continued bizarre story with an interrogator and the loudspeakers that spin every event to the Dear Leader's favor (Kim Jong Il). Time ceases to be linear at that point, and it takes a while to unravel the events from the characters.

It was interesting to have an element of the characters living in self-delusion, where the reader knows better, and even they know better, but for survival they go through crazy lies on a daily basis. This is particularly true of Jun Do, as he minimizes the description of what is actually going on, but the reader has to read between the lines. It smacks of other dystopian novels, reminding me of Orwell, and Lem, and Zamyatin. Except this is an attempt at a portrayal of a society that could be like this. I'm not going to say this book taught me about North Korea as other reviewers have done. This is a work of fiction. But so many of the stories we hear are bizarre, and this book attempts to explain some of them (in a sometimes humorous way). In fact, humor is an important element throughout The Orphan Master's Son, but more in the sense that you have to laugh or you'll cry. Oppression is ridiculous insanity.

One of the best moments is when Jun Do gets sent to Texas for a state visit, very funny because of the misunderstandings and assumptions on both sides.

"Where we are from, stories are factual. If a farmer is declared a music virtuoso by the state, everyone had better start calling him maestro. And secretly, he'd be wise to start practicing the piano. For us, the story is more important than the person. If a man and his story are in conflict, it is the man who must change."

"...The sensation was allowed to rise up, up into his brain, and it was okay to perceive again, to recognize forgotten parts of his body as they hailed him. His lungs were more than air bellows. His heart, he believed now, could do more than move blood."

"The Americans have the saying 'Time heals all wounds.' But this is not true. Experiments have shown that healing is hastened only by self-criticism sessions, the inspirational tracts of Kim Jon Il, and replacement persons. So when the Dear Leader gives you a new husband, give yourself to him!" (loudspeaker) ...more

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Apr 16, 2013 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it really liked it

Shelves: literary-fiction, novels, contemporary, mystery, 2013-around-the-world, suspense, fiction

I was rather skeptical when I heard about this novel. A novel set in the secretive North Korea written by an American? Reading every book published on the country together with some interviews and a brief visit was not going to cut it, I thought. But I soon forgot about that, or at least forgave it, once I started reading. The blurbs inside the cover compared the novel to Nineteen Eighty-Four, Brave New World and Cloud Atlas. (Well, the part in a future dystopic Korea is reminiscent.) It’s one o I was rather skeptical when I heard about this novel. A novel set in the secretive North Korea written by an American? Reading every book published on the country together with some interviews and a brief visit was not going to cut it, I thought. But I soon forgot about that, or at least forgave it, once I started reading. The blurbs inside the cover compared the novel to Nineteen Eighty-Four, Brave New World and Cloud Atlas. (Well, the part in a future dystopic Korea is reminiscent.) It’s one of those novels that I found non-putdownable. I would love to know what a North Korean would make of it--one who’s left and thus free to be honest about that Through-the-Looking-Glass State. Johnson says he’d like to see the day himself when North Koreans can freely write about life in North Korea. This is how the novel describes life there at one point:

Ga thought about reminding the Dear Leader that they lived in a land where people had been trained to accept any reality presented to them. He considered sharing how there was only one penalty, the ultimate one, for questioning reality, how a citizen could fall into great jeopardy for simply noticing that realities had changed.

Maybe then, it’s a deliberate part of the design that parts of this novel are are hard to credit--and sadly I don’t mean the picture of North Korea. The novel is broken into two parts. The first, “The Biography of Jun Do” is fairly plausible. At least I didn’t question the narrative until a certain visit to Texas--perhaps not uncoincidentally, the land of the tall tale. That first section of the novel is third person, told almost entirely from Jun Do’s point of view. The exceptions are these short official announcements interspersed throughout the book--the source of much of the novel’s dark humor. Then in the second part, “The Confessions of Commander Ga,” we cross the line to the truly far-fetched, and we get not just Jun Do’s perspective, but that of one of the state’s interrogators.

Ordinarily when something so strains my suspension of disbelief that far, I’d stop reading, but I kept turning pages--it’s great storytelling. It might have shaved a star off my rating, but it didn’t lose me because the narrative compels belief in its reality--metaphorically even if not literally. Not always easy to read though, parts of this story are unsettling. Particularly trying to decide what we’re supposed to take seriously, what’s parody, what’s lies, what’s truth--even Jun Do’s identity is murky. Other parts are downright macabre, horrifying--old-fashioned fiendish vampires have nothing on this police state. But memorable? Oh yes. This isn’t one I’ll forget easily.
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Dec 01, 2011 Daisy rated it really liked it

Shelves: korea-south-or-north, aroundtheworld2013, japan

Outside of North Korea, the man makes the story; there, the story makes the man. That's what this book is about. What an undertaking it must have been to write this intricate book. It's hard to read and hard to put down. The subject matter is tense and graphic but the writing is beautiful. Now that I'm finished, I really have to read something lighter to shake it off. Because I believe every word.

Apartment blocks stood empty... There was no laundry hanging to dry, no onion smoke in the air...

Whe ...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Janine rated it it was amazing

“Don’t ever remember someone by their name. To keep someone alive, you put them inside you, you put their face on your heart. Then, no matter where you are, they are always with you because they’re part of you.” This is the best novel I have read so far this year. The author’s research on North Korea becomes so obvious in the intricate details he weaves into the story line. You don’t just write any story about a totalitarian regime without really understanding it. “People do things to survive, a “Don’t ever remember someone by their name. To keep someone alive, you put them inside you, you put their face on your heart. Then, no matter where you are, they are always with you because they’re part of you.” This is the best novel I have read so far this year. The author’s research on North Korea becomes so obvious in the intricate details he weaves into the story line. You don’t just write any story about a totalitarian regime without really understanding it. “People do things to survive, and after they survive, they can’t live with what they have done.” What a great book! This is the description of a political structure on a very personal level, incorporated into the story about Jun Do, the son of the administrator of an orphanage. Jun represents everything that Johnson wanted to share with us about this type of regime – starting with the blind obedience to the rules of the system, the scarcity of basic things such as nutritious food and proper living space, the brutality associated with not following the rules, lack of personal freedom, inability to trust anyone, not even your family, and the general sense of fear. “The darkness inside your head is something your imagination fills with stories that have nothing to do with the real darkness around you.” The author’s ability to change his voice constantly, switching from drama to satirical over to terrifying and brutal is amazing. The propaganda is a crucial element of any totalitarian regime and Johnson has incorporated finely into this coming-of-age / spy / love story. There is also the critical role the United States plays here, ironically represented in a visit to Texas. “Jun Do understood that in communism, you’d threaten a dog into compliance, while in capitalism, obedience is obtained through bribes.” I like how Johnson is not illustrating the US as the superior power here, but rather makes clear that neither country understands the other and that gap ultimately appears unbridgeable. “For us, the story is more important than the person. If a man and his story are in conflict, it is the man who must change. But in America, people’s stories change all the time. In America, it is the man who matters.” There is also the nameless state interrogator who oscillates between his own story of struggle with his aging parents’ fear disguised as patriotism and lastly, over everything looms the constant Dear Leader, Kim Jong II and his malign spirit. All is so masterfully connected and as you finish the book, you know that the story has ended, but you also know that North Korea continues to exist, one of the most secretive and repressive nation on Earth. “Use your imagination only on the future, never on the present or the past.”

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Aug 18, 2012 Joy rated it liked it

I don't know how I felt about this book. In one sense, it's epic heroism and bitter romance. It another, it's was heart wrenching. I think I liked it. It's books like this that remind me why I love reading. I was exported to a place I never dreamed of. ...more

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