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The Orphan Master's Son - Adam Johnson
The Orphan Master's Son
by: (author)
3.86 160
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER   “A daring and remarkable novel.”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times   Pak Jun Do is the haunted son of a lost mother—a singer “stolen” to Pyongyang—and an influential father who runs a work camp for orphans. Superiors in the state soon recognize the boy’s loyalty... show more
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER   “A daring and remarkable novel.”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times   Pak Jun Do is the haunted son of a lost mother—a singer “stolen” to Pyongyang—and an influential father who runs a work camp for orphans. Superiors in the state soon recognize the boy’s loyalty and keen instincts. Considering himself “a humble citizen of the greatest nation in the world,” Jun Do rises in the ranks. He 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.”   In this epic, critically acclaimed tour de force, Adam Johnson provides a riveting portrait of a world rife with hunger, corruption, and casual cruelty but also camaraderie, stolen moments of beauty, and love.   “Gripping . . . Deftly blending adventure, surreal comedy and Casablanca-style romance, the novel takes readers on a jolting ride through an Orwellian landscape of dubious identity and dangerous doublespeak.”—San Jose Mercury News   “This is a novel worth getting excited about. . . . Adam Johnson has taken the papier-mâché creation that is North Korea and turned it into a real and riveting place that readers will find unforgettable.”—The Washington Post   “[A] brilliant and timely novel.”—The Wall Street Journal   “Remarkable and heartbreaking . . . To [the] very short list of exceptional novels that also serve a humanitarian purpose The Orphan Master’s Son must now be added.”—The New Republic   “A triumph of imagination . . . [Grade:] A.”—Entertainment Weekly   “A spellbinding saga of subverted identity and an irrepressible love.”—VogueLook for special features inside. Join the Circle for author chats and more.
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Format: paperback
ISBN: 9780812982626 (0812982622)
ASIN: 812982622
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Pages no: 456
Edition language: English
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Community Reviews
Awogfli - Bookcroc
Awogfli - Bookcroc rated it
5.0 Surrealer, total wahrer Wahnsinn im Operettenstaat Nordkorea
Dieser 2013 mit dem Pulitzer Preis ausgezeichnete Roman ist bedauerlicherweise bisher völlig an mir vorbeigegangen. Dann entdeckte er mich kürzlich zufällig auf dem Weg zu einer Aussichtsplattform, ich stolperte quasi über ihn. Am Tag der Annäherung von Nord- und Südkorea beschloss ich nun, dass es ...
Lenaribka
Lenaribka rated it
0.0 The Orphan Master's Son (Audio)
AudibleDNF at 35%That's actually funny - not the book, there is nothing to laugh at here - but the fact that ALL my GR buddies with whom I share my book taste and who have already read it, loved it. And I, who picked it up, with complete certainty that I would enjoy it too, didn't like it at all. E...
Read All The Things! Reviews
Read All The Things! Reviews rated it
3.0 The Orphan Master's Son
Pak Jun Do is an almost-orphan living in North Korea. His ability to shift his identity to conform to the unpredictable whims of the Korean government helps him stay alive, but there is only so much that one person can take. When Jun Do’s family is put in danger, he risks his life to help them escap...
Mallory Kellogg, Chubbygirlreads
Mallory Kellogg, Chubbygirlreads rated it
1.0 Review: Nope
DNFed at page 50. This book was boring as hell. Dry. A little rushed. And it's like it was written for someone fluent in North Korean culture (which I am not). So many terms I didn't understand. So many places I had to look up. And at times I was confused, thinking the main character was from Chin...
Xxertz
Xxertz rated it
3.0 The Orphan Master's Son (Audio)
BLUF: I would not recommend this book simply because it is monotonous; however, I enjoyed the (fictional or not) insight into a country much different than our own."Ga thought about reminding the dear leader that they lived in a land where people had been trained to accept any reality presented to t...
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