BOOK REVIEW: 'The Orphan Master's Son' — North Korea Made Familiar

Good writing can make the most unbelievable situations believable, and fantastic writing makes us empathize with people in those situations — even when they do the most despicable things.

Such is the case with "The Orphan Master's Son," the story of a man in North Korea, one of the most bizarre and closed societies in the world.

The product of years of research and information from defectors, the novel begins with the state's Orwellian announcements, which would be laughable if they weren't accurate. (The broadcast relates how many doves decided to spontaneously gather above Kim Jong-il to provide shade for him.) These are interspersed throughout the book, continuously assaulting its citizens with propaganda and expectations, reminding them all that the all-seeing eye of the State is always there, ready to pounce for acts of treason such as listening to South Korean pop songs or telling a story that diverts emotion from the Dear Leader Kim Jong-il.

The propaganda reigns supreme, as one character puts it, “Where we are from, stories are factual. If a farmer is declared a music virtuoso by the state, everyone had better start calling him maestro. And secretly, he’d be wise to start practicing the piano. For us, the story is more important than the person. If a man and his story are in conflict, it is the man who must change.”

The protagonist of the book, Pak Jun Do (a twist of the name John Doe), serves as the book's "everyman" as he takes a journey throughout North Korean society. In the process he is both a victim and villain. As a child growing up in an orphanage, he witnesses famine and death. As an adult, he is conscripted into the military and ordered to kidnap people from Japan.

He experiences a dizzying amount of freedom on a fishing boat, where he eavesdrops on enemy broadcasts and is chosen to undertake a trip to America (where unintentional hilarity ensues). After he returns, he is considered corrupted and sent to a horrific, barbaric prison camp. (Those without strong stomachs had better skip these scenes or think twice before reading.) In a bizarre twist of fate, he then takes up the role of national hero Commander Ga, falls in love with North Korea's most famous, beautiful actress, Sun Moon, and comes face to face with the Dear Leader himself.

Is Jun Do the son of the Orphan Master? He may or may not be. What happens to the various people he meets? That's rarely revealed. As someone who generally hates subtlety and loose ends in general, I can definitely say it works here. And herein lies the genius of it. The novel not only makes the society relate-able, the hero sympathetic, the characters real — but it also explores questions of love and sacrifice through its beautiful prose and story. The book is impossible to put down, and the story stays with you.

I can't think of what more to ask from a novel.