The Orphan Master’s Son
By Adam Johnson
This novel is about families living in North Korea under the
dictatorship of “the Dear Leader” Kim Jong Il.
At points it’s a brutal story, and there were times I wanted to stop
reading, but I just couldn’t put it down. This novel will move you through a range of
emotions as it reveals human nature at extraordinary and at terrifying moments.
I think I had to keep reading as I searched for hope.
This author gives a skilled portrayal of his protagonist Jun
Do, an everyman citizen of the dangerous Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
(DPRK). The novel’s appeal is how well it
reflects the debilitating effects of repression on everyday people. The author said that he wanted to write about
“how the tenets of totalitarianism eat away at the things that make us human:
freedom, art, choice, identity, expression, love.”
A primary theme is people struggling to stand and maintain an
individual identity against the relentless tide of state propaganda. This is especially a struggle for Jun Do who
is labeled an orphan. Another theme is how
people share loving relationships, when in North Korea your first loyalty and
love is demanded to the state. Priority
is rigidly ordered: regime first, family second. The author asks, “Despite dangers, can lovers
share their intimate thoughts” when there is the ominous fear of betrayal to
the state.
The novel is in two parts.
The first is the biography of Jun Do, and the second is the confessions
of Commander Ga. It’s a shocking twist
how these two parts tie together.
Throughout the book there is a rising tension between America and North
Korea. An interesting progression of
seemingly unrelated life events thrust Jun Do unexpectedly into an increasing
role on this world stage.
Jun Do’s journey begins as a citizen who does what he’s told,
and when he’s told, no matter the ethics, and without question. His exposure to foreign broadcasts, and life
encounters bring him to crossroads that conflict with his society. The reader gets glimpses into the lives of a
variety of characters through Jun Do including: a fishing boat captain, the
first mate, a newlywed wife, prison inmates, state propaganda movie actress,
army commanders, and the self-censorship and paranoia of an interrogator and
his family. Finally you also meet the
Dear Leader himself.
The story is obviously a work of love by the author, who is
well qualified to write on the topic. As
he described, “so much research was done to build the story including extensive
interviews of Korean orphans, defectors, and revelations of prisoners’ stories. The Pyongyang’s Workers’ Party newspaper was
the source for much of the propaganda that is prominent in the book.” In 2007 Adam Johnson was allowed by North
Korea to take a strictly guided tour of Pyongyang.
I wished for the resilient, inquisitive Jun Do to feel the
freedom of his own sense of purpose.
This is fiction, based on extensive research, but as the author said,
“the reality is that we’ll know the true way to write a novel set in North
Korea when North Korean novelists become free to tell their own stories. I hope that day comes soon.”
Thereby hangs a tale . . . .
