lionessramping 's review for:

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson

4.0

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While, on the surface, this is a book about North Korea, even the author admits to pretty much making up the "North Korean" elements of it, as his tours through the country were of the limited, guided version and he did not get to know any one citizen intimately. So rather than extolling this book as a glimpse into NK culture, which it may or may not be, I'm extolling this book's beautiful and intense use of shifting identity and reality. Johnson's characters make you question what makes us us, as each goes through multiple redefinitions. He uses the idea of an utterly controlled state to provide a controlled background that truly brings perceived identity and reality into focus. Are we what we do, who we think or say we are, who others think or say we are? Johnson leaves you feeling uneasy, not because of torture and government control although those are present in abundance, but because of a sudden insecurity about what you hold true about yourself and the world around you.