"The Orphan Master's Son" by Adam Johnson. It won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for 2013. This is our book club selection for our September meeting and some friends who read it before I did really didn't like it. I think it is not the kind of book you "like" but I found it fascinating and scary. Taking place in North Korea it deals with the issues of propaganda, the power of the North Korean government over the people, and the subjugation of "self" in order to survive. The government has the power to declare false to be true and create histories and stories that become true by their telling. If you are wearing the clothes and the leader calls you a name, you have just become that person and even people who know you are NOT that person will accept your new role and persona and go along with it without missing a beat. Lots of violence and awful stuff but I believe it is a pretty violent and awful place. I recommend it with the caveat that you need to read a better synopsis and review before you make the decision to spend your money. I think it is another one of the books that people should read to remind themselves that not all people "think" the way we do and we cannot expect them to react as we do. We need to understand people on their terms, whether we like those terms or not.
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