Nada A. reviewed on 4/8/2012 + 1395 more book reviews

Review first posted on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com/2012/04/orphan-masters-son.html

The Orphan Master's Son is a story of North Korea. It is the story of one man - Jun Do - who really could be any person. A John Doe if you will. It is a story of a regime so different from ours, and a life so different from ours. Different yet the same, for human nature and the need to love and be loved is the same everywhere. It is a story of hardship and difficulties.

I started reading this book about a month ago. I read about a hundred pages. Since then, the book sits on my side table. I have had no inclination to pick it up again. I have moved on and read several other books and am trying to gear up to go back to it. It is a selection of my local book group, and I do try and read those books. I have discovered some gems that way. Unfortunately, I really don't want to pick this book up again.

The book has received such rave reviews. Unfortunately, in the first hundred pages, I found the writing style confusing and sometimes difficult to follow in terms of narrator and time period. I felt no emotion for the main character. I could not relate to him, and even given his dire circumstances, did not develop a sense of hoping for a happy ending for him.

I wanted to like this book. From the book description, I felt like I would enjoy the book. Unfortunately, I think I am abandoning it at about 100 pages. If, even after 100 pages, a book cannot engage me, then I don't feel a need to finish it.

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