The Orphan Master's Son

Resumen del libro

Citizens of our beloved Democratic Republic of North Korea! Imagine the life of an orphan boy from nowhere who is plucked from his orphanage by the military, to be trained as a tunnel assassin, a kidnapper, a spy. He has no father but the State, no sweetheart but Sun Moon, the greatest opera star who ever lived, whose face is tattooed on his chest. Imagine he lives in our very own country, a model of exemplary Communism. A nation that is the envy of the world, especially the Americans. Where the only human stories people need to hear are those blasting out of loudspeakers to the glory of our dear Leader, Kim Jong il. Citizens! Who is this individual? What is his story? Who will remember him? Pak Jun Do is his name: wrestler of sharks, envoy to Texan barbecues, imposter extraordinaire, whose murderous biography has only come to light through the talents and stamina of our most patriotic interrogators. Dry your eyes now, comrades! This is the double-life story of a hero and martyr: the Greatest North Korean Love Story Ever Told. The Orphan Master's Son is an iconoclastic work of fiction, part thriller, part coming-of-age story, part love story. Dark, playful and genre-defying, its searing depiction of one man's epic journey through the surrealist brutality of North Korea shines a fierce light on the essence of the human condition. Warning: Any resemblance to real people and events may not be entirely coincidental.

Biografía del autor

Adam Johnson, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2013 for The Orphan Master's Son, and the National Book Award for Fiction 2015 for his collection of stories "Fortune Smiles"had an ideal upbringing for a writer. His father was a night watchman at the Phoenix Zoo and he would bring young Adam along on his evening rounds.<br><br> My father showed me there was a zoo that average people saw, but at night, with all the keys in hand, he would lift the veil and show me the real zoo, he said. Animals had certain behaviors in their exhibits, I learned, but at night, in their private enclosures, they displayed their true personalities. The zoo taught me there was always a hidden, purer world, and this is the only part of life I'm interested in depicting in my work.