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“An exquisitely crafted novel that carries the reader on an adventuresome journey into the depths of totalitarian North Korea and into the most intimate spaces of the human heart.
— Pulitzer Prize citation
-
“We don’t know what’s really going on in that strange place, but a disquieting glimpse suggesting what it must be like can be found in this brilliant and timely novel.”
— Wall Street Journal
-
“Magnificently accomplished…Part thriller, part
coming-of-age novel, part romance, The
Orphan Master’s Son is made sturdy by research…but what makes it so
absorbing isn’t its documentary realism but the dark flight of the author’s
imagination…Rich with a sense of discovery.”
— Daily Beast
-
[A] vivid, violent portrait of a nation…[a] macabrely realistic, politically savvy, satirically spot-on saga. Johnson’s metathriller, spiked with gory intrigues and romantic subplots, is a ripping piece of fiction that is also an astute commentary on the nature of freedom, sacrifice, and glory in a world where everyone’s “a survivor who has nothing to live for.
— Elle
-
The Orphan Master’s Son performs an unusual form of sorcery, taking a frankly cruel and absurd reality and somehow converting it into a humane and believable fiction. It’s an epic feat of story-telling. It’s thrillingly written, and it's just thrilling period.
— Los Angeles Times
-
“A great novel can take implausible fact and turn it into entirely believable fiction. That’s the genius of The Orphan Master’s Son.”
— The Washington Post
-
Providing a rare glimpse into one of the world’s least known countries, Adam Johnson weaves a tale of hardship, romance, and redemption in North Korea in The Orphan Master’s Son.
— National Geographic Traveler
-
A harrowing, clever, incomparable riff on life in Kim Jong Il's North Korea
— San Francisco Chronicle
-
“An incredibly vivid page-turner of a novel…Romance, coming-of-age tale, adventure and thriller all in one.”
— Huffington Post
-
The death of Kim Jong Il couldn't have come at a better time for novelist Adam Johnson. The Orphan Master’s Son is a richly textured political thriller about the hidden world of North Korea with all of its misery, violence and defiant acts of love under impossible circumstances. Stunning and evocative imagery abounds on every page.
— Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
-
Startling…Johnson's carefully layered story feels authentic...[He] writes light-footed prose, barely allowing harrowing glimpses of atrocity to register before accelerating onward. He resists the temptation to turn his subject matter into comic fodder, but never ignores the absurdity, provoking laughter with jagged edges that tends to die in your throat.
— Newsday
-
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. . . . Johnson juxtaposes the vicious atrocities of the regime with the tenderness of beauty, love, and hope.
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
-
[A] fantastical, careening tale…Informed by extensive research and travel to perhaps the most secretive nation on earth, Johnson has created a remarkable novel that encourages the willing suspension of disbelief.…Johnson winningly employs different voices, with the propagandizing national radio station serving as a mad Greek chorus. Part adventure, part coming-of-age tale, and part romance, The Orphan Master's Son is a triumph on every level.
— Booklist (starred review)
-
Readers who enjoy a fast-paced political thriller will welcome this wild ride through the amazingly conflicted world that exists within the heavily guarded confines of North Korea. Highly recommended.
— Library Journal (starred review)
-
Ambitious, violent, audacious—and stunningly good.
— O Magazine
-
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
-
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. A brave and impressive book.
— David Mitchell
-
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
-
“Ambitious, violent, audacious—and stunningly
good.”
— O, The Oprah Magazine
-
“Readers who enjoy a fast-paced political
thriller will welcome this wild ride through the amazingly conflicted world
that exists within the heavily guarded confines of North Korea.”
— Library Journal (starred review)
-
“[A] fantastical, careening tale…Informed by
extensive research and travel to perhaps the most secretive nation on earth,
Johnson has created a remarkable novel that encourages the willing suspension
of disbelief…Johnson winningly employs different voices, with the
propagandizing national radio station serving as a mad Greek chorus. Part
adventure, part coming-of-age tale, and part romance, The Orphan Master’s Son is a triumph on every level.”
— Booklist (starred review)
-
“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…Johnson juxtaposes the vicious atrocities of the regime with
the tenderness of beauty, love, and hope.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
-
“Startling…Johnson’s carefully layered story
feels authentic…[He] writes light-footed prose, barely allowing harrowing
glimpses of atrocity to register before accelerating onward. He resists the
temptation to turn his subject matter into comic fodder, but never ignores the
absurdity, provoking laughter with jagged edges that tends to die in your
throat.”
— Newsday
-
“[A] vivid, violent portrait of a nation…[a]
macabrely realistic, politically savvy, satirically spot-on saga. Johnson’s
metathriller, spiked with gory intrigues and romantic subplots, is a ripping
piece of fiction that is also an astute commentary on the nature of freedom,
sacrifice, and glory in a world where everyone’s ‘a survivor who has nothing to
live for.’”
— Elle
-
“An incredibly vivid page-turner of a
novel…Romance, coming-of-age tale, adventure, and thriller all in one, this
book is singular and not to be missed.”
— Huffington Post
-
“Providing a rare glimpse into one of the
world’s least known countries, Adam Johnson weaves a tale of hardship, romance,
and redemption in North Korea in The
Orphan Master’s Son.”
— National Geographic Traveler
-
“The death of Kim Jong Il couldn’t have come at
a better time for novelist Adam Johnson. The
Orphan Master’s Son is a richly textured political thriller about the hidden
world of North Korea with all of its misery, violence, and defiant acts of love
under impossible circumstances. Stunning and evocative imagery abounds on every
page.”
— Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
-
“A harrowing, clever, incomparable riff on life
in Kim Jong Il’s North Korea.”
— San Francisco Chronicle
-
“The
Orphan Master’s Son performs an unusual form of sorcery, taking a frankly
cruel and absurd reality and somehow converting it into a humane and believable
fiction. It’s an epic feat of storytelling. It’s thrillingly written, and it’s
just thrilling period.”
— Los Angeles Times
-
“A great novel can take implausible fact and
turn it into entirely believable fiction. That’s the genius of The Orphan Master’s Son. 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…Johnson’s book is
an audacious act of imagination: an intimate narrative about one of the most
closed nations on Earth…Yet the setting is precisely rendered…I haven’t liked a
new novel this much in years.”
— Washington Post
-
“In
making his hero, and the nightmare he lives through, come so thoroughly alive,
Mr. Johnson has written a daring and remarkable novel.”
— New York Times