LITERARY FICTION Book Discussion - Question # 7

Let's take a look at a specific scene in the novel ...

In one of the most poignant and powerful moments in the book, one of the interrogators remembers the way in which his father explained life in North Korea: "Even if we walked this path side by side, he said, we must act alone on the outside, while on the inside, we would be holding hands." What does the quote imply about the reality of living in such a repressive society? How does it speak to humanness in the fact of inhumanity?

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Scroll down through earlier posts to find previous discussion questions for The Orphan Master's Son.

LITERARY FICTION Book Discussion - Question # 6

What about the writing style used by Johnson ...

What do you feel the first-person narrative contributed to the story? Did you feel more or less removed from a world so closely guarded?

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Scroll down through earlier posts to find previous discussion questions for The Orphan Master's Son.

LITERARY FICTION Book Discussion - Question # 5

Let's continue talking about the make-up of the novel ...

How do the propaganda chapters, written as if spoken from a loud-speaker, play into your reading of the novel?

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Scroll down through earlier posts to find previous discussion questions for The Orphan Master's Son.

LITERARY FICTION Book Discussion - Question # 4

Let's talk about the make-up of the novel ...

Discuss the differences between the first part of the novel, "The Biography of Jun Do," and the second, "The Confessions of Commander Ga."

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Scroll down through earlier posts to find previous discussion questions for The Orphan Master's Son.

LITERARY FICTION Book Discussion - Question # 3

Now let's talk about the use of characters in the book.

How did you feel about the inclusion of Kim Jong II as a central character in the book? How would you say Johnson depicts him? Were you surprised by his portrayal?

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Scroll down through earlier posts to find previous discussion questions for The Orphan Master's Son.

LITERARY FICTION Book Discussion - Question # 2

Yes, this is a Literary Fiction title but let's talk about genre ...

The Orphan Master's Son has been characterized as a thriller, a love story, and a political dystopia. How would you classify the novel in terms of genre? How do you think each of these genres manifests itself in the book?

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Scroll down through earlier posts to find the previous discussion question for The Orphan Master's Son.

LITERARY FICTION Book Discussion - NOW OPEN !!

It's time to begin the online book discussion for our Literary Fiction title. The benchmark for this genre is The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson, the 2013 Pulitzer Prize Winner.

I will be posting a question each day from now, Wednesday, November 13 through Tuesday, November 19. The full list of discussion questions for this title will be compiled and posted under the Book Discussions tab on Wednesday, November 20.

So here's the first question:

How much did you know about North Korea before reading The Orphan Master's Son? How has it changed your perspective on life there?

Please enter your responses in the COMMENTS box so everyone can follow the discussion.

NOTE: All discussion questions for The Orphan Master's Son come from the "Readers' Guide' in the back of the Random House Trade Paperback edition (pages 455-456).

Genre Study Program - LITERARY FICTION

The next genre (or non-genre, if you will) we will be covering is Literary Fiction! This is the area of fiction with the most awards and reviews as well as the type of titles which appear on many Best of ... lists. Literary titles also are often the book of choice for discussion groups.

Our benchmark title for Literary Fiction is Adam Johnson's award-winning The Orphan Master's Son. Johnson's book won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Literature and was also an ALA Notable Books: Fiction category choice for 2013. It covers a very timely topic, taking place and dealing with life in North Korea under the regime of Kim Jong II.

In an article for NoveList, titled Getting Up to Speed in Literary Fiction, David Carr describes the genre as follows: "Literary Fiction renders the life experiences and personal perspectives of characters in the midst of complex situations and conflict over values and relationships. Tensions typically involve finding ways to respond and cope, and to understand the origins of those problems. In Literary Fiction, resolutions do not come easily, and the reading experience often evokes related issues of character, family, ethics, memory, faith, and forgiveness."

The Online book discussion for the Literary Fiction benchmark will begin on Wednesday, November 13 and run through Tuesday, November 19. Watch for a question to be posted on the blog each day. The book discussion meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 20 in Room 112 at the General Administration office.

For more information about The Orphan Master's Son look under the Benchmarks tab.