The Orphan Master's Son
ADAM JOHNSON

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson 3136 reviews (2012) (464p) Amazon Best Books of 2012: Top 10 Literature & Fiction #9 Amazon Best Books of 2012: Top 100 Editors' Picks National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction Finalist Pulitzer Prize for Fiction Winner ALA Notable Books - Fiction Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2012: Adult Fiction (25) #18

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Book Description

"Mr. Johnson has written a daring and remarkable novel, a novel that not only opens a frightening window on the mysterious kingdom of North Korea, but one that also excavates the very meaning of love and sacrifice." - Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times "RIch with a sense of discovery...The year is young, but The Orphan Master’s Son has an early lead on novel of 2012." - The Daily Beast "This is a novel worth getting excited about." - The Washington Post "[A] ripping piece of fiction that is also an astute commentary on the nature of freedom, sacrifice, and glory." - Elle 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.

Other Award Winning Books by Adam Johnson

Fortune Smiles: Stories by Adam Johnson 238 reviews (2015) (320p) (NYT100) (NBA) (LATimes) (ALA) Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Emporium: Stories by Adam Johnson 22 reviews (2002) (256p) (Amazon) Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Adam Johnson Award Stats

Major Prize* Nominations 5   Unique Books Nominated for a Major Prize* 2   Pulitzer Prize Wins 1 The Orphan Master's Son ·   Pulitzer Prize Nominations 1 The Orphan Master's Son ·   National Book Critics Circle Award Wins 0   National Book Critics Circle Award Nominations 1 The Orphan Master's Son ·   National Book Award Wins 1 Fortune Smiles: Stories ·   National Book Award Nominations 1 Fortune Smiles: Stories ·   Man Booker Prize Wins 0   Man Booker Prize Nominations 0   PEN/Faulkner Award Wins 0   PEN/Faulkner Award Nominations 0

*Major Prize = Pulitzer Prize, National Book Critics Circle Award, National Book Award, Man Booker Prize, and PEN/Faulkner Award

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