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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
I have considered what I would write about this book for several days and have come to the conclusion that anything that I write would be inadequate. The author seems to capture the tension of a people living in subjugation to the communist regime's authority and systematic terrorization of its own people through punishment and propaganda. This book wasn't a light read nor an easy read. I experienced a sense of disorientation as my Western mind tried to grapple with the scenarios in the last half of the book. In the end, I don't think that I enjoyed the book -- I won't read it again -- but I think that the book was masterfully written and I was captivated by the story and the description of life in North Korea. I'm sure that it will become a classic assigned in school for students to pore over the different devices the author used in writing the story.
A book about N Korea is never going to give someone the warm snugglies, but this book was difficult to follow. I don’t think listening to the audiobook helped.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
North Korea is a wound on the earth. And if the North Korea portrayed in The Orphan Masters Son is accurate, it is a hopeless, unhealing, desperate place. This was a difficult book to get through, not because it wasn't well-written, or exciting, but because of the hopelessness of the situation.
Amazing book, and it made me so sad for the people who live in North Korea -- a contemporary dystopia. Lots af food for thought and discussion--would be an excellent book club book.
This is an epic story of North Korean citizens and how they endure. I'm not sure I even have the right words to express the vast emotions and feelings this novel has evoked. It's heartbreaking and unjust, hopeful and hopeless. Johnson's writing is absolutely stunning, he has such command of voice. Every character was unique and significant. Even though Johnson will inevitable take you through the horrors of North Korea, I never felt that he did so flippantly. This definitely deserves the Pulitzer, and while I can't say this was an easy novel to need, this was a novel I needed to read.
A book that's creepy, magical, moving, hilarious and bizarre. I loved the look into North Korea and Kim Il Jung, whom I found entirely believable. The main character is a survivor and a shape shifter whose point of view is always compelling. But I wasn't swept away. Maybe because I was reading the ebook from the library and knew I had to read all 400+ pages in exactly two weeks. I was driven to finish it more than compelled to.
I had trouble finishing this book but at the same time I'm glad I read it. The characters and plot are so unusual and the book takes an unflinching look at the horrible and twisted world of North Korea. How much is true to life it is hard to say. I can't give the book higher marks because it was such a slog. Too long, too much detail, too many horrible scenes of abuse to humans and animals alike. Just not my cup of tea.
I honestly thought this book was based on a futuristic dystopia for the first hundred pages or so. When I realized that it was based on the last 50 years in North Korea, it was sobering. It was beautifully written with metaphorical meat, truly a book you can sink your teeth into and it sticks to your ribs for a long time.