rhiannonagnes 's review for:

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson

5.0

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I don't even know how to write about this book yet: the reader in me is still reeling. The writing was the type that hides its own craft. The cleverness does not come from flashy language or even shocking/beautiful description. What makes the work a masterpiece is intricately and subtly woven through every innuendoed sentence, through every simple, easy description which utterly defies my American normalcy. It's the kind of writing that makes good writing seem simple, despite the fact that I know how truly hard this would be to pull off. I still can't believe that the author did not himself live in North Korea but instead used research and apparently some visits to compose this. What a spectacular feat.