Friday, April 19, 2013

The Orphan Master's Son



I just finished reading this year's Pulitizer Prize winning fiction, The Orphan Master's Son.  It was a thrill ride through Kim Jong Il's fantasyland, North Korea.  I couldn't put it down.  Be warned, it's violent, harrowing and heartbreaking; but it also has satisfying moments of pure comic irony like when a small delegation of north Koreans end up in Texas at a barbecue.  And finally it is about love, unsentimental and dangerous.  I loved this book.

I also read Sharon Old's, Stag's Leap, which won for poetry.  I read most of it aloud to Tom.  The poems examine Old's separation from her husband after thirty-three years of marriage and all the emotional rife that accompanies such a schism.  Well worth the read.

What are you reading?

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8 comments:

  1. eliana23April 20, 2013 at 7:17 AM

    Wasn't ORPHAN amazing? When I read it, my mind was so filled. I know it is fiction but it rang so true. All the press lately is making me want to read it again.
    Just finished THE STORYTELLER which was quite good, best Jodi Picoult ever. Really.

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  2. Linda JApril 20, 2013 at 9:38 PM

    I'm 281st in line at the library for The Storyteller so I guess I won't be reading it until summer - on a good note the library does have about 30 copies on loan so the line should go relatively fast. I just finished reading "The Painted Girls" by Cathie Marie Buchanan. Fictional account of the Van Goethem sisters, two of whom Edgar Degas used in his painting of the ballet girls. His ballet statuette is supposedly one of the sisters. Really enjoyed it. Currently reading "The Sweet Girl" by Annabel Lyon and will be reading "The Golden Mean" also by her next. Undecided if I like her writing style.

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  3. twebsterarmstrongApril 21, 2013 at 6:38 AM

    I am reading Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. I am lukewarm about it, although it is holding my interest.

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  4. Bonnie WhiteApril 21, 2013 at 2:28 PM

    I am reading The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet and wishing you were here to tell me how to pronounce all these Dutch names. The setting is completely enveloping and I do almost here the dock sounds.

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  5. UnknownApril 21, 2013 at 9:34 PM

    I stumbled across your blog from the link your friend on NYC Taught Me posted. I'm so glad I did! I spent a few hours reading old posts, laughing at your snarky humor and touched by your sweet memories of your family. Thanks so much for sharing. It made my Sunday wonderful. :)

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  6. eliseApril 22, 2013 at 3:54 PM

    I am divorcing after 40 years of marriage. Will Stag's Leap make me cry?

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  7. AnnetteApril 30, 2013 at 2:20 PM

    Thanks for the recommendation. I'll add it to the list. Next up is Gulp by Mary Roach. Do I dare admit that I'm just finishing up her very interesting and entertaining Bonk? TMI when it comes to pigs and bulls, but did result in a belly busting laugh!

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  8. twebsterarmstrongMay 1, 2013 at 5:29 PM

    I just received my copy of The Orphan Master's Son.

    I hope I can make it through; harrowing violence ranks right up there with germs, in terms of what I cannot abide. Stay tuned...

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