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houstonkp 's review for:
The Orphan Master's Son
by Adam Johnson
This book is excellent. Yes, Johnson overreaches at times, but I found he tackled complicated plots, characters and narrative shifts in a very readable 450 pages. It's as if Johnson took Kakfa's Josef K. to the next level -- instead of being merely a complicit, faceless citizen, you find yourself wondering if he is a master player in a game without rules or maybe just plain crazy. In the end, I didn't care and only wanted him to succeed in his Casablanca-inspired mission.
There is a fine line in portraying a comic-book version of Kim Jong Il while simultaneously undermining the horrific nature of an oppressive regime. As a reader you find yourself asking "should I be enjoying this so much?" However, I think Johnson approached this book with an intention to do the material justice. For me, Kim Jong Il as a merry tap-dancing prankster contrasted with a lobotomizing pain machine that could run on autopilot only served to sharpen the contrast between Dear Leader and death camp.
There is a fine line in portraying a comic-book version of Kim Jong Il while simultaneously undermining the horrific nature of an oppressive regime. As a reader you find yourself asking "should I be enjoying this so much?" However, I think Johnson approached this book with an intention to do the material justice. For me, Kim Jong Il as a merry tap-dancing prankster contrasted with a lobotomizing pain machine that could run on autopilot only served to sharpen the contrast between Dear Leader and death camp.