Challenge: 50 Books discussion

One of September's group reads is The Orphan Master's Son. Try to read 110 pages/week. Labor Day weekend, and each weekend thereafter, I'll post links, quotes or questions to trigger discussion. Enyoy and welcome; feel free to introduce yourself!

I must admit I started already. It's an interestingly alien atmosphere and viewpoint for me. Very curious where as to where it's going to go.

I'm 2/3 finished because I wanted to work on discussion questions. I'm not sure where you are, but once I hit part 2 this book entered "top 10 books this lifetime"status for me . . .

I'll be joining in this group read, but it will definitely be Sept before I get to it.

I'm about a 1/4 of the way through. It's got my attention for sure, but still not sure where it's all going.

Sounds interesting - I've brought The Orphan Master's Son for my kindle.

I just finished this book, and I have to agree with Kate. After the 2nd part it just entered the top 10 books of all time. Just beware of some gory descriptions.

I haven't been involved in a group read for quite a while, but this one sparked my interest. I like the topic.

This book appears very interesting. I will purchase it on my Nook tomorrow and join in the group read

Most of you, having been reading the book, i try to catch up with you.

Happy Labor Day weekend!!! As you are reading the first 110 pages or so, consider both the setting and that our main character, Jun Do, lost his Mom. How did the sociopolitical structure of Jun Do's world and/or that loss shape his character? Which was more powerful? As you learn about Jun Do, think: did he have other choices?

I am feeling like I should skim a bit of Korean history; I wasn't that familiar. Anyone have any trivia/knowledge/insight which might inform our discussion? The setting of this book fascinates me.

In my experience, ghosts are made up only of the living, people you know are out there but are forever out of range (p. 69)

The scene on pp. 34-38 intrigues me. Thoughts?

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/20...

http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/20...

http://southampton.patch.com/blog_pos...

Kate wrote: "I am feeling like I should skim a bit of Korean history; I wasn't that familiar..."

The setting is fascinating and reading through has brought to my attention the fact that I know very, very little about life in North Korea. It's been interesting to consider how realistic is the fictional version of Jun Do's life. The setting seems like almost science fiction to me, which I hope doesn't sound too ignorant - obviously have been in my own little world here. I love the contemporary references that remind me, "oh, yeah, this isn't a parallel universe; it's current!"

Kate wrote: "The scene on pp. 34-38 intrigues me. Thoughts?"

Confession - I'm listening to the book as I commute. What scene is this?

Faye:
first ... i like your observation regarding 'a parallel universe'. that is what the reality presented in T.O.M.S. felt like to me as well. i think of this kind of story as speculative fiction as it has none of the classic elements of sci fi. T.O.M.S. also has a 'magical realism' aspect to it as no distinction is made between real and fantastical elements. the author presents even the most far-fetched coincidences in a straight forward manner.

i also took note of your comment that you know little about Korea. fictional books like T.O.M.S. set in a country we know so little about are problematic for me -in that- i think readers may actually believe they have some insight on a country. an insight that may have some validity to it, BUT it is still based on a work of fiction.

i finished T.O.M.S. a few weeks ago, and am currently reading Nothing To Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick. i am only a few chapters in, but it is very readable ... very engaging and -so far at least- it tends to support the vision of the country presented in the novel.

I just got this book from the library! I can't wait to read it and get to join in the talks this month! =)

I'm about 2/3 of the way through and I'm totally engrossed. The world created is so perfectly surreal. It's like an updated, multi-layered new 1984. I'm agreeing a top 10 read.

In the first part of the book I feel so sorry for the American soldier that passes on his card.

I had a thought - what if this book is pro-America, anti- North Korea propaganda? How's that for a brain mess?

I should note, without making any spoilers that at about 2/3rds of the way the book through is one of the most memorable literary sex scenes ever. I hugely admire Adam Johnson for it.

Getting back to you, Faye -- the female prisoner gets angry and slashes Jun Do in the face with her toenail?

Faye wrote: "Kate wrote: "I am feeling like I should skim a bit of Korean history; I wasn't that familiar..."

The setting is fascinating and reading through has brought to my attention the fact that I know ver..."

I felt exactly the same way. I was having trouble keeping the idea in my head that this wasn't set in another universe. I'm going to have rouble replying to specifics. I had put both books for September on hold atthe library back when it was first announced, but this one came in quickly with a 2 week due date, so I've been done for a while.

I'm on disc 15 of 15 and equal parts sad that this is coming to a close and wanting to listen to the rest of it NAOW!

This is probably going to be my top book of 2012 - the story arc keeps going and growing my empathy for every character.

Cheryl wrote: ... this wasn't set in another universe ...

The Orwellian double speak on the fishing boat, during their visit to Texas demonstrates how paranoid their culture is.

I know that we live on the same planet, but their thought processes are so different to mine; I would find it very difficult to have to think carefully about what I was going to say, before I could say anything.

So would I. I have trouble with the filter between my brain and mouth as it is. I don't think I would survive for long in a culture like that. Maybe if I became mute it would work okay. But then, even at 43, I still get in trouble for giving "the look", so maybe being mute wouldn't help too much. ;)

Cheryl wrote: ... I still get in trouble for giving "the look"

Perhaps if we were mutes with Bell's Palsy ...

So, hopefully you're through the biography of Jun Do and are now mesmerized by part two, the confessions of Commander Ga. What do you make of it????

I just finished the last of the whole thing today and I'm very sad it's over. What an intricate, amazing other-wordly tale. Definitely one of the best books I've read.

The difference between the loudspeakers telling the story of Commander Ga and what really happened is not only interesting but it shows the propaganda that surrounds Kim Jong Il. I found the differences in narration quite interesting because it show North Korea as a totalitarian country putting it in the same breath as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The real story of our "hero" Commander Ga is polished in places to present him as the villain when he is paired up with Kim Jong Il, and as a hero who tried to save Sun Moon. The loudspeakers presents the epitome of state controlled propaganda for their citizens in the same way that Nazi Germany tried to hide its prison camps.
Also, the narration of the Interrogator adds to what Mekerei and Cheryl were talking about: censorship when speaking. You can see this the most in when the Interrogator interacts with his parents, and when he shows parts of his past mingled with his present. You can sense the tension between him and his parents, which is also due to the fact that he works as a state interrogator.

"Even if we walked this path side by side, he said, we must act alone on the outside, while on the inside, we would be holding hands." This is the best quote from the book.

As I read more and more I found that I wanted our hero, Commander Ga to be able to get away with Sun Moon and live happily ever after - but that's a fairy story - and they live in North Korea.

I think that Commander Buc and the Interrogator are as good men as is possible for that society.

Juveria wrote: "Even if we walked this path side by side, he said, we must act alone on the outside, while on the inside, we would be holding hands."

Juveria is right this is the best quote from the book it illustrates how dangerous / exhilarating it is to be intimate.

Y'all are brilliant . . .

Sun Moon: how does she survive, emotionally? What psyche could tolerate her circumstances?

I am so glad I read this book. I was also hoping somehow they would get their happily ever after, but I think this was the best way it could have turned out. Fairy tale enough to have something happy but real enough that you could believe it. Life is very rarely a HEA for all the good guys.

As for Sun Moon - I think she survives emotionally because someone loved her that much. To do what he did for her and the kids, that is enough sometimes to survive on.

I found this book a difficult read because of all the emotions that it evoked. A story that makes me think / question the paths that people choose are the best kind; I can't wait to have the story revealed, but am so sad when they end - I want more.

Cheryl wrote: ... I think this was the best way it could have turned out. ... that is enough sometimes to survive on . For the story to be so powerful, this was the only ending that could be true and satisfying.

My difficult reads are the books that I savor the most.

Mekerei your right again. Difficult books make you think about them even when the story is long finished. Your mind justs keep returning to it again and again.

Cheryl love is enough with equal proportion of the need to survive. These two elements allowed Sun Moon to escape with her children and also to truly love someone like Commander Ga.

This is definitely a difficult book to read. It's one of those books that you're either going to love it or hate it. There is no in between with this book. It's definitely different than what I've been reading lately. It's almost like a culture shock, especially how the North Koreans treat animals, Americans, and women. The way things are blended you have a hard time realizing "the story" that they tell and what really happened because what really happened doesn't seem at all important.

Does anybody else see "magic realism" in this novel? Magic realism is predominant in novel like this but usually not written by an American. It still shocks me that an American wrote it.

re difficult books: i can definitely relate to what has been said about them. my most memorable books fall into one of two categories ... the one you can't put down. everything else just goes on hold (including sleep) because you literally can't tear yourself away. the other is the one where i can only read in small instatllments. the language is so rich or the story so dense with detail or so mind bending that you feel full after only a few pages. it's like you've eaten this wonderful meal and must stop to digest it before consuming more.


re Magical Realism: i did make an earlier post with this observation. like you China this isn't a writing style i associate with American writers. it is a style that is often used by writers living under an oppressive state which is probably why Johnson uses it. when you live in a state where lies -even outlandish impossible lies- are accepted as truth and where anything can happen -even to very ordinary citizens- speculative, satirical and magical realistic elements are a perfect metaphor for what is really happening under that regime.

Yes, China, I agree too. In a way it reminded mye of some of the things I read in a class in college called "Surealistic literature of South America".

I finished this book a while ago but I keep wanting to revisit it. Perhaps it will be a re-read; I'm sure there's more in there to savor despite my underlines and dog-ears (yes, that's the kind of bookowner I am . . .) Here's a brilliant scene: Ga is smoking on the balcony, searching for any car that might return sun moon to him. He says: "There were people who came into your life and cost you everything . . . He had bee;n the person who took. He'd been the one who was taken. And he'd been the one left behind. Next he would find out what it as like to be all three at once.