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)

Back in the DPRK, Don't Know How Lucky U Say, Boy

I purchased the Kindle version of this when it was published. I gave up after 75 pages, believing it too dark and foreign for me to care much about it.

Then, Adam Johnson was awarded the Pulitzer Price in Fiction for 2013 for this novel, and I exclaimed, Good Grief! I bought the audiobook version, had to start over and gave up again around the same point.

For whatever reason though, I repurchased the audiobook, pulled out the Kindle version and made one more stab. Not 10 pages after my stopping point, I became interested and then I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.

And, I cannot laud it highly enough to do it justice in my book. Excellent development of characters and subtext to perfectly place of the reader in another world and a wonderful story that seemed so real (based loosely on one that is). The representation of North Korean life and the dictatorship made the story all the more profound and effective. Consider, for example, the news within the past 6 months that the Kim Jong Un had 9 orchestra members executed to squash rumors that his wife, a singer, was "friendly" prior to marrying the Jong Un.

A quote in the book relating life in North Korea:

“I wonder of what you must daily endure in America, having no government to protect you, no one to tell you what to do. Is it true you're given no ration card, that you must find food for yourself? Is it true that you labor for no higher purpose than paper money? What is California, this place you come from? I have never seen a picture. What plays over the American loudspeakers, when is your curfew, what is taught at your child-rearing collectives? Where does a woman go with her children on Sunday afternoons, and if a woman loses her husband, how does she know the government will assign her a good replacement? With whom would she curry favor to ensure her children got the best Youth Troop leader?”
***


This novel has adventure, suspense, a great literary structure and even some romance:

“They’re about a woman whose beauty is like a rare flower. There is a man who has a great love for her, a love he’s been saving up for his entire life, and it doesn’t matter that he must make a great journey to her, and it doesn’t matter if their time together is brief, that afterward he might lose her, for she is the flower of his heart and nothing will keep him from her.”


>>>>

I loved this book. The parts with Kim Jong-il gave me goosebumps and were scary funny.

This is the best book I've read/listened to in quite a few years. Sometimes perseverence pays, particularly in audiobooks. I probably wouldn't have finished this if I'd had to pick back up the book in print instead of just turning up the audio version on the way to and from work.

too depressing to continue with

Listening to this reminds me of just how sad and corrupt the state of North Korea
must be, where children and women are treated as commodities, and where survival is a matter of conformity to a corrupt and heartless regime
I suppose it would have got better if I had have kept going. But the negativity and hardship just got to me, and I couldn't finish it.
It has been reviewed very well elsewhere, so perhaps my take on it is not accurate.

Storytelling at its best

I can't remember when I've read or listened to anything quite as stunning as The Orphan Master's Son. First, I listened to "Escape From Camp 14" -- the nonfiction account of the only soul ever to escape a North Korean prison camp. Then I moved on to The Orphan Master's Son, a superb novel that spoon-feeds its reader with the bizaare reality that defines life inside North Korea. This novel is transfixing, profound, chilling, beautiful. Do I recommend it? Oh, yes.

Loved it!

Would you listen to The Orphan Master's Son again? Why?

I already have started listening to it for a second time. Tim Kang's vocal performance is absolutely first rate. The tone color of his voice is warm and easy to listen to. The various "voices" he uses for the different characters are amazing.

What did you like best about this story?

It's a love story, a thriller and a political narrative all at the same time.

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

Jun Do.

Brutal allegory set in North Korea

The fictional life story of an orphan in an oppressive totalitarian state. Fascinating, violent and well narrated.

What a great story!

Would you listen to The Orphan Master's Son again? Why?

What an amazing story! Excellent storytelling. It may take a bit to get into due to subject matter but if you stay with it, it is so rewarding. Easily my favorite audio book in a LONG time.

Very interesting portrait of North Korea

This story was really engaging and a bit frightening if this is really how life is in North Korea. The paranoia, the games, the "rehabilitation camps" the propaganda is so cold war it is hard to believe that this still exists. I immediately cared about the characters and couldn't wait to continue the story each time I had to stop the book.

The narrators were really excellent as well. The added alot to the story and really added life to the story. I am interested to read more from this author and this story made me want to learn more about this mysterious and dangerous place called North Korea.

Narrator nails on chalk board

Incredible story. I really enjoyed it but one of narrators was really hard for me to listen to.

Insightful

Dark is the tale of North Korean life.
If it's anything like this, thank your lucky stars you are free.
Interesting characters with grit, beauty, depth and tragedy. A heavy read. It's going to stay with me for a long time. Maybe forever. That may be a sign of a great book. You just cant shake it. Powerful.

Interesting, but odd.

What did you love best about The Orphan Master's Son?

It is great to get a glimpse into what lives might look like in North Korea. It's a quirky, odd novel however that left me feeling uncomfortable and feeling like I missed something. The narration is on point

Would you recommend The Orphan Master's Son to your friends? Why or why not?

To some friends, yes.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

He had an engaging, optimistic voice that played well with the subject matter. Optimistic yet subversive,