I really liked this book. It was not something I would have thought I would have liked, but I really enjoyed it. It starts out by following the misadventures of a young North Korean boy, Jun Do, whose name is a homonym for John Doe. Jun Do is raised in an orphanage. He is the son of the orphanage master, who is really cruel to him, as to not be accused of favoratism towards his own son. He takes the boys shoes in winter and burns him with a shovel. Jun Do has a hard life.
The writing style was a little difficult to get used to, jumping from first person, to third person, and back again, with each new chapter. The book was divided into two parts. The first part was about Jun do, growing up and the strange jobs he had, up until he ends up going to America, and returning only to be sent to a labor camp.
The second half is about Jun Do, impersonating a general, and getting to live with the general wife, his lifetime crush, a north Korean Movie star. Some of this part, seemed a bit farfetched, but was interesting reading.
The propaganda and situations in this book, prompted me to look up North Korea, and see how much of it was true. Sadly, a lot of it was(is). I can't imagine living in a world that the characters of this book inhabit, and am grateful that I was born into this country.
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