TPL Book Review: 'The Orphan Master's Son' by Adam Johnson

Editor's Note: This review was provided by Karen Woods from the

The recent death of North Korea's Kim Jong Il (kept secret for 24 hours) makes all the more compelling Johnson's story of life in a land where the only sure thing is the Dear Leader's will.

Pak Jun Do's father runs an orphan work camp, and Jun Do becomes the namer and director of the inmates, deciding who eats and who works at jobs, including those likely to be deadly.  

He becomes what he is caused to be: an orphan in every way except in fact, a kidnapper for the State, a surveilance radio operator, a hero, a prisoner and more, but mostly he is a survivor.

Life in Johnson's North Korea consists of toil, deprivation, constant exposure to loudspeaker propaganda, and the perpetual dodging of a seemingly inevitable end in a death camp.

Pak Jun Do finds his means of survival in a preposterous guise that is made believable in the author's skilled hands.

With all the corruption and cruelty, there is also humor and romance in this fascinating picture of the most repressive nation on earth.