The Orphan Master's Son - Book Review

   Having living in South Korea for nine years, I've developed a bit of a fascination with North Korea.  I've stood on the other side of the DMZ.  I've looked through a telescope into the North Korean hills.  I've read several history books and followed the news to come out of the mysterious, murky North.
   Nothing has riveted me like Adam Johnson's The Orphan Master's Son.  It might be described as historical fiction, except that the history it describes is present day North Korea.  For one with a moderate knowledge of North Korea and a strong understanding of South Korean culture, this novel has the aura of authenticity.  Johnson has nailed the ethos of North Korea.
   Of course, he had to take some liberties with logic, making one person do far too many things.  However, some such bending of circumstances is often necessary for a cohesive and comprehensive narrative.
   Johnson has delivered a gripping and clear picture of life in North Korea through the lens of a single individual.  The voice alternates among various narrators and even to public service announcements broadcast into ever North Korean home through a nationwide intercom system.  The story deftly weaves humor, drama, suspense, intrigue, politics, love, despair, and hope.
   One of the most compelling lines comes from a supporting character, the high level Minister of Procurement, "No one is safe."  After the recent execution of Kim JeongEun's uncle (Korea's #2 leader), this one line is hauntingly true.
   It won a much deserved Pulitzer Prize in 2013.  I highly recommend it.  But don't start it when you're busy.  You'll want to read in every spare moment.

Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry

This epic tale of the West won the Pulitzer Prize in 1986.  It is a sweeping drama of rugged western life, human ambition, injustice, poverty, struggle, redemption, love, joy, and relationships.  All of this heavy material is joyfully lightened by the outstanding wit McMurtry wields through the wry main character: Gus McCrae.
Two retired Texas Rangers decide to form the first cattle ranch in Montana.  The novel is the story of their journey northward and all the people this journey involves.  McMurtry beautifully sidesteps the plot to develop each main character's backstory in full-chapter flashbacks.  This rich character development weaves a thick fabric of intense human drama for the subsequent plot developments.

At first I thought the theme was the ultimate poison of ambition.  As in: ambition will destroy everyone around it.
Then, it had no theme.  I thought it was simply an outstanding story depicting the beauty, danger, and difficulty of the old American west and the humans who lived there.
Finally, today, with some help from wikipedia, I picked up on what I think is the true theme, cleverly disguised in a mangled latin phrase on an old wooden sign in the story: "We are changed by the lives around us."  For the many, many intriguing characters who inhabit this story, life has surprising ways of wrapping back around on itself.  Our actions influence those around us.  Our stories intertwine.  Both our good choices and our bad choices make a difference for those we love, and even for those we barely know.
That's a message worth a good story, and all the better if the story itself is exceptional.  At some point, I want to go back and watch the TV miniseries again, too.

Rainmaker - Review

Our church garage sale had two John Grisham books I hadn't read, so I tipped Sarah off.  Emma gave them to me for Fathers Day.  Score.

Rainmaker picks up on several common Grisham themes - injustice, underdogs, corporate wrongdoing, and ultimately dissatisfaction with money.  

The premise is simple.  Donny Ray had medical insurance, but when he needed a bone marrow transplant, his insurers unfairly denied his claim.  However, his parents were so poor and uneducated that they simply fought the insurance company with letters and phone calls, until it was too late.  When Donny Ray lay on his deathbed, they stumbled into contact with a young law student who took their case.  Against all odds, and with some very fortunate help from others, Rudy Baylor took down one of America's largest insurance companies and exposed their widespread fraud.

What I love about Grisham is that he tells a story with a point, or in this case multiple points.  1) Beware of corporate greed and abuse.  Not every big business is a good business.  2) Beware of greed - from within.  Riches may not be worth the sacrifices required to get them (or to keep them).  

Thanks for another good one, Mr. Grisham.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Review

I couldn't put it down.  Bathroom, bedroom, living room, breakfast table, car, mechanic.  I read it at every free moment until I was done.
Stieg Larsson deftly blends the narratives of the super-rich, struggling sociological outsiders, midlevel power players, abusers, and victims.  Its backdrop in Sweden, although obvious from the names of people and places, actually had almost no impact on the accessibility of the story for me as an American.  I instantly related to the themes of power, relationship, justice, identity, and discovery.
However, reader beware.  This is not a book for people with weak hearts or sensitive minds.  Violence and sexual abuse are major factors in the story.
On the other hand, without giving away the plot, I always love it when hope emerges out of the ashes of the pain.  Larson beautifully plumbs the depths of human pain, yet he also follows through to hope without the slightest bit of sentimental cheese.  Well done, sir.  Well done.

The Runaway Jury - Review

Every vacation, I read at least one John Grisham book.  This year it was The Runaway Jury.  Once again, it was hard to put down.  There was more mystery than usual for the first half of the book.
The story begins with the selection of the jury for a huge tobacco lawsuit.  A widow of a man who died of cancer after smoking three packs a day for thirty years is suing the maker of his cigarets.  Drama and mystery swirl around the whole process, especially around one juror who seems to be willing to sell his vote and influence on the jury.
The ending is exciting, even if predictable.  I don't read Grisham to surprise me.  I read Grisham for the fun of the story.  However, I have to admit that after several years of vacationing with Grisham, I'm starting to wish he would shake things up a bit more.
The Josh rating: JJJ.

The Trail to Seven Pines - Review

So, I'm an addict.  I started reading this book on Thursday, and I'm finished already (Tuesday).  If it's a good story - especially with a lot of action - I get sucked in, and I try to read in every spare minute.
In The Trail to Seven Pines, Louis L'Amour doesn't do anything spectacular.  The plot is basically predictable.  The good guys beat the bad guys.  However, the twists in the details and the nearly poetic landscape descriptions keep it interesting.  Once again, I couldn't put it down.
This book was less reflective than The Ferguson Rifle, but it was still a good, fun read.  Again, he reminds me of John Grisham, only writing about a different time and place.  You pretty much know where you're going to end up, but the journey is still worth the ride.  (Thanks again Grandma and Grandpa!)
The Josh rating: JJJ.

The Ferguson Rifle - Review

My grandparents love Louis L'amour.  When we visited them this winter, I asked them to recommend a few of his books.  We also listened to some short stories on tape.  (Yes, my mom's car still uses audio cassettes!)  This has been a good way for me to get a sense for my grandpa's world.  Also, L'amour is one of the best selling American authors of all time - with 101 books and around 300,000,000 total sold.  The reason for all that success is that he tells a great story.
The Ferguson Rifle tells the story of a scholar, who returned ventured westward into the North American wilderness after losing his wife and daughter in a fire.  Told in the first person, the action is quick, but also seasoned with the scholar's reflections on life and on his life in particular.  This is a good quick read.  It reminds me very much of John Grisham's writing, only set in the wild American west.
The Josh rating: JJJJ.

A Thousand Acres - Review

Jane Smiley won the Pulitzer Prize for A Thousand Acres, a novel about an Iowa farm family.  Since I was on my way to Iowa (though not to a farm family), I thought this would be a good read.  I was right.  True to form with good books, I ended up staying up late one might to finish the last 100 pages.
A Thousand Acres moves through the mundane details of farm life - cans of used nails, repairing tractors, cows in corn fields after harvest, etc, etc, etc.  But through the slow trudge through minutia, Smiley also reflects on the relationships and deeper meanings of life that find expression in these microscopic realia. 
This is a story of sin, abuse, recovery, failure, transition, selfishness, unselfishness, humilty, and even - barely - healing.  While I typically hope for more positive resolution, the final chapter of the book is one of the best I've ever read in terms of sheer poignancy. 
The Josh rating: JJJJ.

Dragon Seed - Review

"The woman had hair as yellow as cat's fur, and it did not lie smooth about her head as hair does, but it stood out like lamb's wool."  These were the thoughts of Ling Sao as she came face to face with her first white woman.
Pearl Buck's Dragon Seed is set in northeastern China during Japan's invasion between 1937-1941.  It tells the story in all its brutal details through the lens of a single farming family living on the outskirts of a large city - possibly Nanjing or Shanghai.  This simple, hardy family suffers all the ravages of war and being conquered - flight, rape, murder, oppression, irrational injustice, heavy taxation, poverty, hunger, disease, and extreme instability.  In the midst of this single family, we all the options of resistance - flight, subversive fighting from the hills, compromise with the enemy, sabotage from within the enemy's camp, passive endurance, and sly evasion of taxes and oppression.
In addition to telling a riveting story, Pearl Buck has also revealed the difficulties of isolated people coming into contact with outsiders for the first time.  As one living in Korea, where contact with foreigners is still somewhat new.  These little bits of insight from the perspective of the indigenous people shed light on many of my experiences.  On more than one occasion, we have caused a baby to cry simply by entering an elevator with our white faces.  But even more common is a deep reticence to talk with us simply because we are different.  When one has been exposed to only one type of people for many generations, the sudden advent of diversity is radically disconcerting.
I recommend this book, not only because it's a great novel, but also because it can help expats living in Asia to understand a little bit more about how we are often experienced by many in our host nation.  The Josh rating: JJJJ.