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A review by erikbergstrom
The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson
5.0
*Received a ration of sorghum in exchange for an honest review.*
I was a bit put off by this book at first. A little skeptical, you could say. Mainly because it does that thing with the title where it's the relative of someone else, The "___'s ___". Why not do a book on the Orphan Master himself if you're going to refer to him? What's so great about the son, why doesn't he have a title? Made me think "here we go again with one of these creative writing MFA teacher people who ask for grants to write their book."
Anyway... rant over haha. This book is cunning in how it gets you invested. It's dense, starts a bit slow, but it's all in service to the overall aura and atmosphere it gives to the characters in Part Two who live in Kim Jong Il's North Korea. They're compelled to do terrible things in the name of their country and Dear Leader, who they're to love unconditionally. I wasn't sure about the interjections by the Announcer, but then saw how interesting it played as propaganda when put side by side with the events in the story as portrayed by the two narrators. It's really effective in helping people (me) understand how some can get tricked into falling for a despot.
Unlike most literary novels I've read, there's a build-up to quite the suspenseful climax. Stick with it and you'll be rewarded.
I was a bit put off by this book at first. A little skeptical, you could say. Mainly because it does that thing with the title where it's the relative of someone else, The "___'s ___". Why not do a book on the Orphan Master himself if you're going to refer to him? What's so great about the son, why doesn't he have a title? Made me think "here we go again with one of these creative writing MFA teacher people who ask for grants to write their book."
Anyway... rant over haha. This book is cunning in how it gets you invested. It's dense, starts a bit slow, but it's all in service to the overall aura and atmosphere it gives to the characters in Part Two who live in Kim Jong Il's North Korea. They're compelled to do terrible things in the name of their country and Dear Leader, who they're to love unconditionally. I wasn't sure about the interjections by the Announcer, but then saw how interesting it played as propaganda when put side by side with the events in the story as portrayed by the two narrators. It's really effective in helping people (me) understand how some can get tricked into falling for a despot.
Unlike most literary novels I've read, there's a build-up to quite the suspenseful climax. Stick with it and you'll be rewarded.