The Orphan Master's Son
The thrilling, Pulitzer Prize-winning coming-of-age novel set in North Korea
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5.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
The award-winning and New York Times bestselling novel: a dark and witty story of the rise of a young orphan in the surreal and tyrannical regime of North Korea.
'You know you are in the hands of someone who can tell a story. Fantastic' ZADIE SMITH
'A stunning feat of imagination' STEPHEN KING
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST
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Young Pak Jun Do is convinced he is special. He knows he must be the unique son of the master of the orphanage, and definitely not some kid dumped by his parents. Surely it was obvious from the way his father singled him out for regular beating?
He finds his calling when he is picked as a spy and kidnapper for his nation, the glorious Democratic Republic of North Korea.
He knows he must find his true love, Sun Moon, the greatest opera star who ever lived, before it’s too late.
He knows he’s not like the other prisoners in the camp.
He’s going to get out soon.
Isn't he?
This hilarious, dark literary epic of a young boy's rise in North Korea from orphan to high-ranking officer won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and was shortlisted for the National Book Award.
Adam Johnson is working on a new work of fiction.
'An addictive novel of daring ingenuity' DAVID MITCHELL
'Excavates the very meaning of life' NEW YORK TIMES
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Johnson's novel accomplishes the seemingly impossible: an American writer has masterfully rendered the mysterious world of North Korea with the soul and savvy of a native, from its orphanages and its fishing boats to the kitchens of its high-ranking commanders. While oppressive propaganda echoes throughout, the tone never slides into caricature; if anything, the story unfolds with astounding empathy for those living in constant fear of imprisonment or worse but who manage to maintain their humanity against all odds. The book traces the journey of Jun Do, who for years lives according to the violent dictates of the state, as a tunnel expert who can fight in the dark, a kidnapper, radio operator, tenuous hero, and foreign dignitary before eventually taking his fate into his own hands. In one of the book's most poignant moments, a government interrogator, who tortures innocent citizens on a daily basis, remembers his own childhood and the way in which his father explained the inexplicable: "...we must act alone on the outside, while on the inside, we would be holding hands." In this moment and a thousand others like it, Johnson (Parasites Like Us) juxtaposes the vicious atrocities of the regime with the tenderness of beauty, love, and hope.
