The Orphan Master's Son

A Novel

By: Adam Johnson

Narrated by: Tim Kang, Josiah D. Lee, James Kyson Lee, Adam Johnson

Length: 19 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Pulitzer Prize, Fiction, 2013

An epic novel and a thrilling literary discovery, The Orphan Master’s Son follows a young man’s journey through the icy waters, dark tunnels, and eerie spy chambers of the world’s most mysterious dictatorship, North Korea.

Pak Jun Do is the haunted son of a lost mother - a singer “stolen” to Pyongyang - and an influential father who runs Long Tomorrows, a work camp for orphans. There the boy is given his first taste of power, picking which orphans eat first and which will be lent out for manual labor. Recognized for his loyalty and keen instincts, Jun Do comes to the attention of superiors in the state, rises in the ranks, and starts on a road from which there will be no return.

Considering himself “a humble citizen of the greatest nation in the world,” Jun Do becomes a professional kidnapper who must navigate the shifting rules, arbitrary violence, and baffling demands of his Korean overlords in order to stay alive. Driven to the absolute limit of what any human being could endure, he boldly takes on the treacherous role of rival to Kim Jong Il in an attempt to save the woman he loves, Sun Moon, a legendary actress “so pure, she didn’t know what starving people looked like.”

Part breathless thriller, part story of innocence lost, part story of romantic love, The Orphan Master’s Son is also a riveting portrait of a world heretofore hidden from view: a North Korea rife with hunger, corruption, and casual cruelty but also camaraderie, stolen moments of beauty, and love. A towering literary achievement, The Orphan Master’s Son ushers Adam Johnson into the small group of today’s greatest writers.

From the Hardcover edition.

©2011 Adam Johnson (P)2011 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

• Winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

“An addictive novel of daring ingenuity, a study of sacrifice and freedom in a citizen-eating dynasty, and a timely reminder that anonymous victims of oppression are also human beings who love - The Orphan Master’s Son is a brave and impressive book.” (David Mitchell, author of The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet)

“I’ve never read anything like it. This is truly an amazing reading experience, a tremendous accomplishment. I could spend days talking about how much I love this book. It sounds like overstatement, but no. The Orphan Master’s Son is a masterpiece.” (Charles Bock, author of Beautiful Children)

“Adam Johnson has pulled off literary alchemy, first by setting his novel in North Korea, a country that few of us can imagine, then by producing such compelling characters, whose lives unfold at breakneck speed. I was engrossed right to the amazing conclusion. The result is pure gold, a terrific novel.” (Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone)

Whole new world (for me)

If you could sum up The Orphan Master's Son in three words, what would they be?

Captivating, original, fascinating

Any additional comments?

Utterly fantastic book. Narration is top-notch as well. I picked it up because the North Korea "angle" seemed intriguing. The book sure delivers in that respect. And although North Korea itself is the utter center of this book, the characters and their stories are absolute gems. I am so glad I took a chance on this book.

Bleak peak into a place you never want to live

At times this novel was a real struggle, the immense struggle to exist, the details that the
rest of the world takes for granted. North Korea is a haunted place and this novel a haunted tale. An excellent read!

A book that stays with you

Brilliant and unique. I loved the story. The narration is terrific. A book I'll keep thinking about.

Fascinating!

The Orphan Master’s Son was fascinating and compelling. However, if you don't like graphic violence or the depiction of really depressing situations, then this book won't be for you. (I'm now reading a Stephen King book, and it seems like cotton candy compared to this.)

The structure of the book was interesting, even if a bit confusing. The first half was a twisted adventure story – picaresque, like Don Quixote where it moves from one adventure to the next. The second half was a love story, basically. The second half was really confusing for quite a while. It finally became clear that the story was really being told in three versions – Korean propaganda version, Ga version, and interrogator version. Also, it finally becomes clear that the interrogator character’s whole story line occurs AFTER the ending of the story of Ga and Sun Moon (trying not to give too much away about that ending.)

The characters were so well drawn. The growth and change of Commander Ga (Pak Jun Do) from beginning to end was very moving. In the beginning Ga’s name is Jun Do, and the author mentions how this is like John Doe, a nameless character. I presume he is telling us that Jun Do/Ga is like an Everyman character for North Korea. His various adventures demonstrate so much of what must be going on in North Korea.

Ga’s change at the end represents a hope for lifting North Korea out of the dark ages. I had no idea that North Korea was THAT horrible before reading this book. Shame on me, but it’s true. I credit Adam Johnson for bringing this horror to the eyes of many readers who, like myself, were unaware. Change could result from this exposure; one can only hope.

I found many parts of the book to be extremely disturbing – perhaps more disturbing than any other book I’ve read. The worst parts were those narrated by the interrogator character and having to do with the extreme torture. The depth of horror in the North Korean society seemed to be most represented by him. When he described his parents and it became obvious that even they were afraid of him it was done so chillingly. And when he goes through a change toward the end, well, I suppose that is part of the “redemption” in the book, if you could call it that.

I felt the book was too long. I’m not sure where I’d cut it, but perhaps some of Commander Ga’s various transformations could have been left out or shortened. Another possibility would be to somehow leave out some of the torture scenes which were so graphic and disturbing.

Hmmm...I liked this very much but

It is an important and good thing that this book gives readers a glimpse of the true horror of DPRK. But ultimately this is a story (as Adam Johnson tells us in an afterward) and while I think it intends to show us how REAL people suffer, the fantastical, which makes it such a great read, makes the characters stay on the page.
The narration is super. James Kyson Lee as the voice of the PA system in every home -reminded -irony in some way no?- of the disembodied PA voice in M.A.S.H.
I had tried to post a review with a bunch of links in it. A no-no I guess. North Korea information sites and Kim Jong Il's movie star mistress, Song Hye-rim's Wikipedia page.

Mixed

Very interesting setting and premise, but fell short for me. The characters weren’t well developed enough for 19 hours, I ended up not really caring toward the end, which was disappointing given the reviews and the long build up.

Bizarre Tale of Life & Adventures in North Korea

Where does The Orphan Master's Son rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

High on the list

Who was your favorite character and why?

There's really only one character, the protagonist, Jung-wa (spelling?)/Commander Ga

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

There's really only one character, the protagonist, Jung-wa (spelling?)/Commander Ga

If you could rename The Orphan Master's Son, what would you call it?

The Orphan Master's Son's Revenge

Any additional comments?

This book, with fastidious complex details about current life in North Korea, Korean culture, food, clothing, rituals, politics, etc., is written by a Caucasian Anglo. I've traveled as a tourist to the DPRK, and how he managed to capture and research such details (for example, the Air Koryo Ilyushin-62) is beyond me.

o original...fascinating. ..a must read

so well crafted...engrossing. Enlightening on a country of which we know nothing...hard to believe this fiction is such a real representation of a culture.

Wow! Great story, well written and well performed

This is an unusually crafted book that sounds convoluted but still comes together well into a fascinating experience to listen to. It is presented in several perspectives (and several voices) for different views of the same story - almost a little Rashomon-like: The protagonist, who begins life in an orphanage where he is named Jun Do, his interrogator who tries to learn his story while adding elements of his own life throughout the process, and finally, the propagandizing broadcasts to all "Citizens!" that put an official spin on his story as well as lending ambiance and flavour to the unique location (North Korea).

The specifics of all the characters' lives and experiences in North Korea are interesting, though I don't know how many of them are true -- but that doesn't matter. As the story reports, in North Korea the story is more important than the person, and the truth is what you are told is the truth, regardless of any evidence to the contrary. This is fiction, after all, and as long as you recognize that this is fiction not fact (and that history is written by the victors), it's a great book.

Grim story telling that is no fairytale

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Gruesome, dark and depressing. That must be what is required for a Pulitzer. It's not a light read! I had to slug through it.