Orphan Masters Son Book Review

     The book, The Orphan Masters Son, by Adam Johnson, is extremely interesting. Jun Do, the main character, is faced with many issues where he must think his way out of. He is labeled as an orphan from his child hood so he automatically has a hard time in life due to the lack of opportunity for orphans in North Korea. He has to figure out how to trick the government to believe a story about him saving a friend when he defects from a fishing boat where he was listening to foreign radio transmissions. To make the story he must use one of the many resources that helps him along in life, his pain training. He has learned how to not feel pain. This is a major help because to trick the government, he must have his arm bitten by a shark. 

      Later in the book, he becomes another person. He literally assumes the identity of the North Korean karate master, Commander Ga. He must carry on in life as Commander Ga which means interacting with the dear leader him self, but also taking over the role of husband to the famous actor Sun Moon. 

      The major theme of this book which I find very interesting is the idea of a lack of identity. On page 140 Jun Do gets asked what his name is while he is on a diplomatic trip to Texas. He says that his name is Jun Do, but the people from Texas thinks that it is John Doe. The house maid for the diplomat then says "Isn't that what they call a missing person?" Then she corrects herself and says "Actually, I don't think a John Doe is a missing person. I think its when you have the person, just not his identity." This quote may very well be the most important quote of the entire book. The quote shows you that he never actually has his own identity. His name, Jon Do is the name of a dead Korean diplomat that is given to many orphans. Then the jobs are jobs that he and millions of other people do. at the end of the book, he dies with the identity of Commander Ga. He never actually has his very own Identity. 

      The book is somewhat of a long read, but I highly recommend reading it. It will educate you on North Korea, and also provide a good time of entertainment. This is truly a good, educational, and entertaining book.