►
Description
The Friends of the Arlington Public Library present author and short story writer Adam Johnson reading from his latest novel, The Orphan Master's Son, which is set in North Korea during the treacherous reign of Kim Jong-Il.
A
Welcome
everyone,
Thank
You
kit,
and
congratulations
on
your
election
as
president
of
the
board
of
the
friends
in
current.
Congratulations
to
all
the
other
new
officers.
I
know
that
I
speak
for
all
library
staff
when
I
say
that
we
would
not
be
the
same
organization
without
the
support
of
the
friends.
The
friends
provide
every
penny
that
the
library
spends
on
programs,
so
programs,
such
as
summer
reading
Arlington
Reed's
film
series,
literally
everything,
as
well
as
supplemental
funds
for
purchasing
materials
that
allow
us
to
take
on
initiatives
that
wouldn't
be
possible.
Otherwise.
A
So
a
hearty
thank
you
to
all
of
the
friends
and
all
of
you
in
the
audience
who
are
friends
if
you're,
not
a
friend
and
you're
interested
in
becoming
one.
There
are
membership
forms
on
the
table
outside
in
the
hall
and
I,
encourage
you
to
pick
one
up
and
to
learn
more
about
this
important
organization.
A
Can
everyone
hear
me?
Okay
in
the
back?
Thank
you,
okay.
So
tonight's
presentation
is
a
perfect
example
of
the
kind
of
program
that
would
not
be
possible
without
the
help
of
the
friends.
We
were
delighted
when
Adam
Johnson,
author
of
the
orphan
master
son,
agreed
to
be
with
us
and
share
the
story
behind
his
timely
original
and
critically
acclaimed
new
novel.
Mr.
A
Johnson
comes
to
us
from
California,
where
he
is
currently
associate,
professor
of
English,
with
an
emphasis
in
creative
writing
at
Stanford
University,
a
whiting
writers
award
winner
and
2010
National
Endowment
for
the
Arts
fellow.
His
fiction
has
appeared
in
Esquire,
Harper's
Playboy
and
Paris
Review,
among
others,
he's
the
author
of
Emporium,
a
short
story,
collection
and
the
novel
parasites.
Parasites
like
us,
which
won
the
California
Book
Award
his
books
have
been
translated
into
13
languages.
A
His
current
novel,
the
orphan
masters
son,
is
set
in
North
Korea,
one
of
history's
most
closed,
repressive
and
inscrutable
societies
and
has
been
praised
both
for
its
audacious
imagination
and
its
documentary
realism.
It's
the
story
of
Paco
homonym
for
John
Doe,
who
was
raised
as
an
orphan
trained
to
carry
out
the
will
of
the
state
and
ultimately
becomes
one
of
its
casualties.
It's
the
story
of
fascinating
nightmare
nation,
led
by
a
depraved
and
obsessed
dictator,
who
uses
his
own
storytelling
and
propaganda
to
subordinate
citizens
to
his
will.
B
A
We're
going
to
learn
more
about
that
tonight,
but
it's
my
understanding
that
it
entails
years
of
interviews
and
research,
followed
by
firsthand
observation.
David
Ignatius
of
the
Washington
Post
says
it
best.
I
think
a
great
novel
can
take
implausible
fact
and
turn
it
into
entirely
believable
fiction.
That's
the
genius
of
the
orphan
master
son,
Adam
Johnson
has
taken
the
paper
mache
creation
that
is
North
Korea
and
turned
it
into
a
real
and
riveting
place
that
readers
will
find
unforgettable.
Please
join
me
in
welcoming
Adam
Johnson.
B
Wow,
what
a
great
great
crowd
tonight
this
must
be
a
thriving
library.
I
can
tell
ya.
Not
all
not
all
libraries
are
thriving
this
way.
It's
really
true.
Just
the
microphone
how's,
this
sound.
Does
this
town
poppy
Peter
Piper
picked
a
peck.
Now?
Is
it
okay,
okay,
I'm
just
gonna?
Do
it
maybe
just
like
this
I'm
honored
to
be
here
thanks
to
Vicki
and
Margaret
and
Kidd
for
bringing
me
out
I've
been
lucky
to
read
it.
B
When
did
you
go?
Oh
yeah.
Very
recent
good
I'll
be
very
curious
to
hear
your
your
thoughts
on
the
place.
It
changes
almost
every
year,
someone
else
in
the
back,
sir,
when
did
when
were
you
there
April
2008,
okay,
great
well,
hopefully,
we'll
have
a
Q&A
at
the
end
in
a
discussion,
and
we
can
bring
in
your
views
as
well.
I'm
always
like
to
learn
of
other
people's
experiences,
often
they're,
strikingly
identical,
but
once
in
a
while
people
see
things
that
other
people
don't
so
we'll
do
a
Q&A
and
afterwards
I'm
happy
to
do
that.
B
There's
a
cell
phone
in
the
piece
that
I'm
going
to
read
and
if
your
cell
phone
goes
off
I
can
perfectly
integrate
you
into
my
novel.
So
that's
just
fair
warning:
I'm
gonna
read
for
about
maybe
like
25
minutes:
it's
not
even
the
length
of
a
television
situation
comedy.
So
if
you
find
it
too
long,
you
should
really
think
about
how
much
TV
you're
watching
I
hope
you
can
handle
it,
but
it'll
be
deep
in
the
book,
so
it
won't
make
really
much
sense
at
all
to
you.
B
B
For
ten
hours
I
interrogated
commander
gaw,
but
I
could
trick
him
into
revealing
nothing.
Instead
of
confessing
to
killing
the
actress
and
her
children,
he
only
said
that
they
flew
away
on
a
big
bird
to
a
land
of
make-believe.
If
you
don't
talk
to
me,
I
told
commander
Gao,
the
pub
yok
will
get
their
turn
at
you.
Commander
gob
had
a
tattoo
of
this
actress
on
his
chest.
It
was
large
and
deeply
inked.
He
clutched
it
I'm,
not
afraid
of
pain.
He
said
the
first
thing
the
poob
yok
will
do
to
you.
B
B
His
was
the
toughest
citizen,
biography,
I'd
ever
tried
to
write,
but
I'd
get
him
to
talk
eventually.
If
it
was
one
thing
we
had
no
shortage
of
here
in
North
Korea.
It
was
forever
I
hung
up
my
smock
at
Division
42
and
made
haste
for
the
subway
hoping
to
make
it
home
before
Pyongyang's
power
went
out
for
the
night.
B
You
see
their
eyesight
failed
at
the
same
time,
and
ever
since
they've
become
paranoid
that
there
might
be
someone
around,
they
can't
perceive
ready
to
report
them
for
anything.
They
say
they
listen
to
the
loudspeaker
all
day
and
are
careful
never
to
reveal
a
personal
feeling,
lest
it
get
them
denounced
by
a
stranger.
They
can't
lay
their
eyes.
On
the
next
day,
a
citizen
was
apprehended
with
a
cellular
telephone
which
he
claimed
commander
gaw
had
given
him
for
safekeeping.
B
The
battery
was
long
since
dead
and
I
couldn't
help
thinking
that
all
of
commander
GAO's
secrets
were
stored
inside.
That
was
nonsense.
What
he
said
about
having
those
secrets,
even
as
I
strapped
my
subjects
into
the
autopilot
and
cranked
up
the
electricity.
Even
when
it
didn't
matter
anymore,
they
kept
on
confessing.
B
How
to
get
it
to
talk?
My
parent's
vision
had
become
so
bad
that
when
I
arrived
home,
I
had
to
tell
them
that
night
had
fallen,
I
helped
them
to
their
cots
place
side
by
side
near
the
stove
they
stared
at
the
ceiling
with
their
blank
eyes.
My
father's
eyes
had
gone
white,
but
my
mothers
were
clear
and
expressive
I
sometimes
suspected
that
maybe
her
vision
wasn't
as
bad
as
his
mother,
father
I
said:
I
have
to
go
out
for
a
while.
B
My
father
said:
may
the
everlasting
wisdom
of
Kim
jong-il
guide,
you
obey
the
curfew.
My
mother
said
I
had
commander
GAO's
wedding
ring
and
his
cell
phone
in
my
pocket
mother
I
said.
Can
I
ask
you
a
question?
Yes
son?
How
come
you
never
found
a
bride?
For
me,
our
first
duty
is
to
country.
She
said
then,
to
our
leaders
then
I
know
I,
know
I
said
then
to
the
party
then
to
the
charter
of
the
workers,
assembly
and
so
on.
But
I
was
in
the
youth
brigade.
B
I
studied
gucci
ID
at
Kim,
il-sung
University,
it's
it's
just
that
I
have
no
wife.
You
sound
troubled.
My
father
said:
I
saw
the
fingers
twitch
on
his
right
hand,
when
I
was
a
boy.
One
of
his
gestures
was
to
reach
out,
with
that
hand
and
ruffle
my
hair.
That's
how
he
would
reassure
me
when
we
saw
neighbors
being
transported
or
executions
in
the
soccer
stadium,
so
I
knew
he
was
still
in
there
that,
despite
the
distemper
of
his
patriotism,
my
father
was
still
my
father
outside
on
Sununu
Street.
B
Even
in
the
dark,
I
could
see
that
troops
of
Juche
a
girls
had
chucked
the
sidewalks
with
revolutionary
slogans.
I
headed
for
the
raglan
dong
district.
Where
long
ago,
the
Japanese
built
slums
to
house
the
most
defiant
Koreans.
That's
where
there's
an
illegal
night
market
at
the
base
of
the
abandoned
riad
young
hotel
crossing
the
pal
gall
bridge
pipes
were
dumping
sewage
from
the
pastel
housing
blocks
and
in
the
water
streaked
pages
at
the
Rodong
Sinmun
newspaper
spread
like
grey
lily
pads.
B
The
deals
took
place
around
the
rusted
elevator
shafts,
a
few
sellers
didn't
like
the
look
of
me,
but
one
was
willing
to
talk.
He
was
young
and
his
ear
had
been
notched
by
a
pub
Yaak
agent.
I
handed
him
commander,
GAO's
phone,
he
pulled
the
battery
licked.
Its
contacts
then
checked
the
internal
card.
This
is
Coty
said.
What
do
you
want
for
it?
I'm
not
selling
it.
I
said
I
need
a
charger
for
the
thing.
I
showed
him
commander.
Goz
wedding
ring
he's
laughed
unless
you're
selling
the
phone
he
told
me
get
out
of
here.
B
Several
years
ago,
after
an
April
15th
ceremony,
the
local
pub
yuk
squad
got
drunk
at
division.
42
and
I
took
the
opportunity
to
lift
one
of
their
badges.
I
pulled
it
out
now
and
let
it
gleam
in
the
dark
I
said:
I
need
a
phone
charger.
I
told
him.
Let
me
see
this,
he
said
and
he
took
the
badge
feeling
its
weight.
You'll
get
your
charger,
he
said,
but
keep
the
ring.
I
trade
for
this,
the
phone
charged
all
night.
B
It's
little
light
glowing
yellow
as
I
cooked
my
parents
breakfast
the
next
morning
morning,
news
from
the
loudspeaker
had
them
depressed.
There'd
been
a
big
story
about
poverty
and
starvation
in
South
Korea.
Luckily,
Kim
jong-il
was
sending
them
food
aid.
My
father
said:
I
only
hope
they
can
hang
on
to
reunification.
B
It
was
while
we
were
eating
our
pores
that
the
phone's
light
turned
green
I
toyed
with
the
device
scrolling
through
its
menus.
My
father
heard
it's
funny
beeps
and
tones.
Have
you
got
something
there?
He
asked
no
I
told
him
for
a
moment.
It
felt
like
my
mother
glanced
at
the
phone,
but
when
I
looked
up
she
was
staring
straight
ahead:
I
passed
it
back
and
forth.
Before
her
eyes,
I
returned
to
the
keypad
I
tried
to
think
of
someone
to
call
a
friend,
a
colleague,
a
relative,
a
woman,
father
I
said.
B
If
you
were
to
contact
someone
who
would
it
be?
Why
would
I
contact
anyone
he
asked
I
have
no
need
it's
not
a
need.
I
said:
what
do
you
want
to
call
a
friend
or
a
relative
or
party
comrades
fulfill
our
needs?
My
mother
said
what
about
your
aunt
I
asked
my
father.
Don't
you
have
an
aunt
in
the
South?
My
father's
face
went
blank.
We
have
no
ties
to
that
capitalist
nation.
He
said
my
mother
said
we
denounced
her
I'm,
not
asking
as
a
state
interrogator
I
told
them
I'm
your
son.
B
This
is
just
family
talk,
I
returned
to
the
phone
moving
through
its
functions,
all
of
which
seemed
disabled.
It
looked
like
I'd,
be
selling
the
thing
after
all,
but
wait.
I
said
when
I
was
a
boy
you
used
to
play
cards
with
a
couple
from
the
factory.
Aren't
you
curious?
What
happened
to
them?
Wouldn't
you
contact
them?
If
you
could
I,
don't
believe
I've
heard
of
these
people,
my
mother
said
I'm
sure
of
it
I
told
her
I.
Remember
them!
Clearly!
No,
she
said
you're
mistaken
mother.
It's
me
there's
no
one
else
in
the
room!
B
No
one's!
Listening!
Stop
this
dangerous
talk.
My
father
said
we
met
with
no
one
I
reached
to
take
his
hand,
the
touch,
surprised
him
and
he
recoiled
father.
It's
me,
your
son,
take
my
hand.
I
said.
Is
this
a
test
he
asked
me?
He
looked
wide-eyed
around
the
room.
Are
we
being
tested,
there's
a
talk
that
every
father
has
with
his
son,
in
which
he
brings
the
child
to
understand
that
there
are
things
that
we
must
say
on
the
outside,
while
inside
we're
still
family
I
was
eight.
B
When
my
father
had
this
talk
with
me,
we
were
under
a
tree
on
Morin
Beng
Hill.
He
told
me
that
there
was
a
path
set
out
for
us
on
it.
We
had
to
do
everything
the
signs,
commanded
and
heed
the
announcements
along
the
way.
We
must
walk
this
path
alone
on
the
outside,
but
inside
we
would
be
holding
hands
on
Sundays.
The
factories
were
closed
so
that
day
the
air
was
clear
and
I
could
imagine
this
path
ahead.
B
Stretching
across
the
Taedong
valley,
we
were
eating
blueberry,
flavored,
ices
and
listening
to
the
sounds
of
old
men
at
their
changi
boards.
My
father
said
to
me:
I
denounced
this
boy
for
having
a
blue
tongue.
We
laughed
about
that.
I
pointed
it.
My
father,
this
citizen,
eats
mustard
I,
said
I'd
recently
tried
mustard
for
the
first
time
and
the
look
on
my
face
had
made
everyone
laugh.
My
father
addressed
an
invisible
Authority
in
the
air.
This
boy
has
counter-revolutionary
thoughts
about
mustard.
He
should
be
set
away
to
correct
his
mustard
ly.
B
Thinking
we
left
now
take
my
hand.
He
told
me
I
put
my
small
hand
in
his
and
then
his
mouth
became
sharp
with
hate.
He
snapped
I
denounced
this
citizen
as
an
imperialist
puppet
who
should
be
remanded
to
stand
trial
for
crimes
against
the
state.
His
face
was
red
and
venomous
I've
witnessed
this
boy,
spook
capitalist
diatribes,
in
an
effort
to
poison
our
minds.
With
this
traitorous
filth,
the
old
men
turned
from
their
game
to
observe
us.
I
was
terrified
at
the
edge
of
crying.
B
My
father
said
see
my
mouse
said
that
but
my
hand
it
was
holding
yours
if
your
mother
must
ever
say
something
like
that
to
me
in
order
to
protect
the
two
of
you
know
that
inside
she
and
I
are
holding
hands,
and
if
some
day
you
must
say
something
like
that
to
me.
Oh
no,
it's
not
the
real
you
inside.
It's
where
the
father
and
son
will
always
be
holding
hands.
He
reached
out
and
ruffled
my
hair.
B
At
work,
I
took
all
my
frustrations
out
on
commander
Gao
interrogating
him
relentlessly,
but
he
only
begged
for
the
can
of
peaches
that
he'd
been
carrying
when
we
arrested
him.
What's
so
special
about
these
peaches,
I
asked
and
studied
the
can
I
myself
hadn't
had
a
peach
since
they
closed
the
canning
factory
after
botulism,
killed,
half
of
Nampo
we'd
waterboarded
commander
got
over,
and
over
bull
is
all
he
could
say
and
spoon
that
night
I
felt
weak,
like
my
body,
was
hungry
for
some
kind
of
food.
B
I'd
never
run
across
I
thought
of
the
dogs
in
the
Central
Zoo
that
lived
only
on
cabbage
and
old
tomatoes
when
I
turned
to
go
home,
I
found
the
subway
had
shut
down
and
the
queue
for
the
quang
Bock
Express
bus
was
three
blocks.
Long
I
started
walking
I
didn't
make
it
two
blocks
before
I
heard
the
bull
horns
I
knew
I
was
in
trouble.
The
minister
of
mass
mobilization
was
sweeping
up
any
citizen
unlucky
enough
to
be
out
on
the
street.
B
You
couldn't
run
if
they
even
thought
you
were
trying
to
avoid
volunteering
for
harvest
duty.
It
was
off
to
a
Redeem
ability
farm.
It
was,
however,
the
kind
of
thing
that
a
Pooh
Buick
badge
could
get
you
out
of
without
it.
I
found
myself
in
the
back
of
a
dump
truck
headed
to
the
countryside,
to
pull
rice
for
16
hours.
We
drove
northeast
by
moonlight
toward
the
silhouetted
mule
yank
range.
B
The
driver
flashing,
his
headlamps
when
he
thought
he
saw
something
in
the
road,
but
there
was
nothing:
no
people,
no
cars,
nothing
but
empty
highways,
lined
with
tank
traps
in
the
dark.
We
found
a
peasant
village
somewhere
along
the
Chung
Chung
River,
a
city
folk
about
30
of
us,
climbed
down
to
sleep
on
the
open
ground.
I
had
my
smock
to
keep
me
warm
for
five
years,
I'd
used
a
badge
to
escape
these
harvest
details,
so
I'd
forgotten
the
sounds
of
crickets
in
the
summer.
B
What
followed
was
my
best
night's
sleep
in
years
there
was
no
breakfast
and
my
hands
blistered
before
the
Sun
was
fully
up.
Why
we
drained
one
field
and
flooded
at
another.
I
had
no
idea
but
light
dawned
hard
on
the
peasants
of
Qi
gang
Province.
They
all
were
cheap,
ill-fitting,
vanillin
clothes,
their
bodies
were
rail-thin
their
teeth
translucent
to
the
black
course.
In
the
afternoon,
a
city
woman
was
struck
by
a
grand
snake
long
as
a
man.
I
tried
to
quiet
her
screens
by
stroking,
her
hair,
but
that
snake
must
have
done
something
to
her.
B
She
started
hitting
me
and
pushing
me
away
the
peasants
caught
the
twisting
snake
black
is
the
Buffy
cold
water
that
had
concealed
it.
Some
wanted
to
take
its
gallbladder,
others
wished
to
milk,
its
venom
for
liquor.
I
tried
to
convince
them
to
free
the
snake,
arguing
that
another
black
snake
must
be
out
there
somewhere
waiting
for
this
broad
swimmer
to
make
its
way
home.
B
It
was
midnight
when
I
made
it
home,
though
the
key
turned
in
the
lock
the
door
wouldn't
open.
It
was
somehow
barricaded
from
within
I
pounded
on
the
door.
Mama
I
called
father.
It's
me,
your
son,
there's
something
wrong
with
the
door.
There
was
no
answer
eventually
I'm,
putting
my
smock
and
lay
down
at
the
hall
in
the
hallway
I
stared,
at
the
concrete
ceiling
and
thought
of
the
peasants
with
their
children
in
their
loud
intercourse
of
how,
except
for
starvation,
they
didn't
have
a
care
in
the
world.
B
B
Come
morning
the
door
was
standing
open
inside.
My
mother
was
cooking
porridge,
while
my
father
sat
at
the
table
who's
there.
My
father
asked
it's
me
Father
your
son.
Well,
thank
goodness.
You're
back
my
father
said
we
were
worried
about
you.
My
mother
said
nothing
at
work.
I
had
pulled
my
parents
secret
files
trying
to
find
clues
as
to
why
they
were
so
difficult.
Getting
information
out
of
strangers
was
easy.
Not
so
with
my
parents
now
on
the
table,
I
could
see
those
files
had
been
rifled.
B
The
door
was
blocked
last
night
I
said:
didn't
you
hear
me,
I
didn't
hear
anything.
My
father
said
wife.
Did
you
hear
anything
nothing?
She
said
from
the
stove
I
straighten
the
files
I
suppose
you
two
have
gone
deaf
now
as
well.
My
mother
shuffled
to
the
table
with
the
bowls
of
porridge
I
asked,
but
why
then
was
the
door
locked
you're?
Not
afraid
of
me?
Are
you?
My
mother
said
the
loudspeaker
announced
that
the
American
Navy
was
conducting
aggressive
military
exercises
off
the
coast.
B
B
She
said
as
the
food
cooks,
the
smell
changes
in
my
mother's
file.
I
found
a
photo
of
her
when
she
was
young.
She
she
was
a
beauty,
perhaps
the
reason
she
was
brought
to
the
capital
from
the
countryside.
But
what
got
her
sentenced
to
a
factory
rather
than
assigned
as
a
singer
or
a
hostess
was
not
in
her
record
I
ruffled,
the
folders
in
the
air.
There
were
some
papers
on
the
table.
My
father
said
his
voice
was
nervous.
Yes,
they
fell
to
the
floor.
My
mother
said
we
just
picked
them
up.
B
It
was
an
accident.
My
father
said:
Oh
accidents,
happen,
I
told
them
those
papers.
My
mother
said:
were
they
work-related?
Yes,
father
said?
Were
they
part
of
a
case
you're
working
on
just
research?
I
said
they
must
be
important
files
if
you
brought
them
home.
My
father
said:
is
anyone
in
trouble?
Perhaps
someone
we
know?
What's
going
on
here,
I
asked
them.
Is
this
about
mrs.
Kwok?
Are
you
still
mad
at
me
for
sending
her
to
a
labor
farm?
She
was
caught
red-handed,
stealing
coal
from
the
furnace.
You
know
the
rules
don't
get
mad.
B
My
mother
said
we
were
just
showing
concern
for
the
unlucky
souls
in
your
files.
Unlucky
I
said
what
makes
you
call
them
that
they
both
went
silent
slowly,
I
waved
my
mother's
file
once
before
her
eyes,
yet
she
made
no
track
of
it.
Then
I
fanned
her
with
the
file
when
the
breeze
moved
across
her
face.
She
recoiled
inhaling.
What
is
it?
My
father
asked
what
just
happened.
She
said.
Nothing.
Can
you
see
me
mother,
I
asked
it's
important
that
I
know.
B
If
you
can
see
me,
she
faced
my
direction,
though
her
eyes
were
without
focus.
Can
I
see
you.
She
asked
me
I
see
you
as
I
first
saw
you
in
glimpses
through
darkness.
Spare
me
the
riddles.
I
warned
her
I
have
to
know
the
truth.
You
were
born
at
night.
She
said
to
me
I
labored
all
day
and
when
darkness
fell
we
had
no
candles.
You
came
by
feel
into
your
father's
hands
these
hands.
My
father
said
and
lifted
them
scarred
from
machine
looms.
Such
was
the
year
do
j62.
B
My
mother
said
such
was
life
in
a
dormitory
Factory.
Your
father
lit
match
after
match,
one
after
another.
He
said
until
they
were
gone.
I
touched
every
part
of
your
body.
My
mother
told
me
at
first
to
see
if
you
were
whole
and
then
to
know
you
so
knew
you
were
so
innocent,
you
could
have
become
anyone.
It
took
a
while
until
first
light
that
we
got
a
look
at
what
we
created.
I
need
to
be
able
to
trust.
You
I
told
her
I
can't
have
you
lying
to
me
my
mother
ignored
this.
B
B
The
next
day
at
division,
42
I
found
commander
Gough
strapped
into
an
interrogation
bench
with
a
patch
of
raw
pink
tissue
where
his
tattoo
had
been
I
touched
him
on
the
cheek.
You
know
of
love,
I
told
him.
How
did
you
get
people
to
share
their
secrets?
Voluntarily
I
mean
my
breath
upon
his
wound,
made
him
wince.
First,
you
must
share
all
of
yours.
God
said
I,
don't
have
any
secrets,
I
told
him.
You
want
a
new
life,
don't
you
he
asked
I
nodded.
B
Then
you
must
trade
in
your
old
one.
He
told
me
they
were
gonna,
kill
him
in
the
soccer
stadium
in
the
morning,
I
only
wished
I
could
hook
him
up
to
the
autopilot
which
erases
your
identity
and
prepares
you
for
life
as
a
laborer
and
a
rural
farm,
collective
think
of
it
a
fresh
start,
children,
a
wife.
B
What
about
a
new
life
for
you,
I
asked
commander
Agha
I've
had
my
life,
he
said:
I've
been
thinking
about
making
a
journey,
I
told
him,
but
how
can
I
do
it
alone?
How
did
you
make
the
journey
one
day?
I
just
began.
He
said
then
squelched
his
eyes
from
the
pain
I
put
a
bandage
on
his
wound.
Then
leaned
in
close
I'm,
not
gonna.
Let
them
take
you
to
the
soccer
stadium,
I,
told
him
I
headed
home
in
the
middle
of
the
day
with
that
can
of
peaches.
B
In
my
hand,
there
I
removed
my
shoes
in
the
hall
and
silently
opened
the
door
inside
the
loudspeaker
was
blaring
and
my
parents
were
at
the
table
with
their
secret
files
spread
before
them.
They
were
whispering
to
one
another
as
they
ran
their
fingers
across
the
pages
feeling
the
labels
and
embossed
seals
I
slammed
the
door
behind
me,
the
two
of
them
froze.
Who
is
it
my
father
asked
who's
there?
Are
you
a
thief?
My
mother
asked
I
assure
you.
We
have
nothing
to
steal.
They
were
both
looking
right
at
me,
though.
B
They
seemed
not
to
see
me
across
the
table.
Their
hands
Sault
one
another
and
joined,
go
away.
My
father
said
leave
us
alone
or
we'll
tell
our
son.
My
mother
felt
around
the
table
until
she
located
a
spoon.
She
grabbed
its
handle
and
held
it
like
a
knife.
You
don't
want
her
son
to
find
out
about
this.
She
said
he's
a
torturer,
Oh,
mother,
father
I
said
no
need
to
worry.
It's
only
me,
but
it's
the
middle
of
the
day.
My
father
said
you
don't
come
home
during
the
middle
of
the
day.
B
Everything's
fine
I
told
him,
but
I'm
going
to
have
a
long
night
tonight
and
some
long
tomorrow's
I
might
not
be
here
to
cook
your
dinner
or
help
you
to
the
bathroom.
Don't
worry
about
us,
my
mother
said
we
can
manage.
If
you
have
to
go,
go
I
do
have
to
go.
I
said:
I
walked
to
the
kitchen
from
a
drawer
I
removed
the
can
opener
I
paused
there
at
the
window.
Spending
my
days
underground,
I
wasn't
used
to
the
midday,
brightness
I,
think
you're,
afraid
of
me.
B
I
said
to
them
because
I'm
a
mystery
to
you,
because
you
don't
really
know
me.
I
thought
they'd
protest,
but
they
were
silent.
I
took
the
spoon
from
my
mother's
hand.
Well,
you
won't
have
to
worry
ever
again.
I
told
him
because
today
you're
going
to
meet
the
real
me
I
sunk,
the
opener
into
the
can
it
began
to
cut
a
slow
circle.
My
father
sniffed,
the
air
peaches.
B
He
asked
that's
right,
I
told
him
in
their
own
sweet
liquor
from
the
night
market.
My
mother
asked
actually
I
acquired
them.
From
my
friend
commander,
gaw
I
said
my
father
inhaled
deeply.
I
can
practically
see
those
peaches.
He
said
it's
been
so
long
since
I've
tasted
a
peach,
my
mother
said
we
used
to
get
a
coupon
in
a
ration
book
every
month.
My
father
said,
oh
that
was
years
ago,
I
suppose
you're
right
she
answered
I'm
just
saying
we
used
to
love
peaches
and
then
one
day
you
couldn't
get
them
anymore.
B
Well,
allow
me
I,
told
him
open
like
children.
They
widened
their
mouths.
In
anticipation,
my
father
clue
is
just
milky
eyes:
I
stirred
the
can
selected
a
slice.
Then
I
slipped
it
into
my
mother's
mouth.
She
said:
I
fed
my
father.
Next
there
was
silence,
except
for
the
blaring
loudspeaker,
as
they
savor
at
the
moment
in
unison.
They
said.
Thank
you,
dear
leader,
Kim
Jong
Il.
Yes,
I
told
them,
you
have
him
to
thank
I,
stirred
the
can
again
hunted
down
the
next
slice.
B
I
mentioned
my
new
friend
commander
guy
said
you
see
a
friend
from
work.
My
father
asked
yes
he's
a
friend
from
work.
I
said
the
two
of
us
had
become
quite
close.
He's
given
me
hope
that
love
is
out
there
for
me,
he's
a
man
who
has
true
love.
I've
studied
his
case
very
closely
and
I.
Think
the
secret
to
love
is
sacrifice.
He
himself
has
made
the
ultimate
sacrifice
for
the
woman
he
loves.
He
gave
his
life
for
her.
My
father
said:
actually
he
took
her
life.
B
I
told
him
it
popped
another
peach
in
his
mouth
there
was
a
quake
in
my
mother's
voice
were
happy
for
you.
She
said,
as
the
Dear
Leader
says,
love
makes
the
world
go
round.
So
don't
hesitate.
Go
find
that
true
love.
We
can
take
care
of
ourselves,
my
spoon
to
slice
into
her
mouth.
It
caught
her
by
surprise
and
she
coughed.
B
Perhaps
from
time
to
time.
I
said
you
have
seen
me
riding
and
writing
my
biography.
As
you
know,
that's
what
I
do
for
a
living
write
people's
biographies,
not
torture
them.
We
keep
these
biographies
in
what
you
might
call
a
private
library
commander.
God
says
the
problem
with
the
biographies
I
take.
Is
that
no
one
ever
reads
them
this?
This
commander,
God
said
the
only
person
who'd
want
to
read.
His
biography
is
now
dead,
I
dished
out
new
slices
with
ample
serveth
with
ample
syrup
person.
My
father
said
meaning
the
lady
that
your
friend
loves.
B
Yes,
I
said
the
lady
that
your
friend
killed,
my
mother
said
and
her
kids
I
told
them.
There's
a
tragic
aspect
of
the
story.
There's
no
denying
it.
The
peaches
were
half
gone,
I
stirred
them
in
there
can
save
some
for
yourself.
My
father
said
yes,
that's
enough.
My
mother
said
I
haven't
tasted
sweetened
so
long,
my
stomach
can't
handle
it.
I
shook
my
head.
No,
this
is
a
rare
can
of
peaches.
I
said
I
was
going
to
keep
them
for
myself,
but
taking
the
easy
way.
That's
not
the
answer
to
life's
problems.
B
My
mother's
lip
started
to
quiver.
She
covered
it
with
her
hand,
but
back
to
my
problem.
I
said
my
own
biography
and
the
difficulty
I've
had
riding
it.
This
biographers
block
I've
been
suffering
from
I,
see
it
so
clearly.
Now
it
came
from
the
fact
that
deep
down,
no
one
wanted
to
hear
my
story.
Then
my
friend
got
a
tattoo
of
his
dead
wife.
Yet
he
claimed
the
tattoo
wasn't
public,
but
personal
though
it
was
there
for
the
world
to
see.
It
was
truly
for
no
one
but
himself
losing
that
my
friend
lost
everything.
Really.
B
How
could
a
person
lose
a
tattoo?
My
father
asked,
unfortunately,
it's
easier
than
you'd.
Think
I
told
him,
but
it
got
me
thinking,
though,
and
I
realized
I
wasn't
composing
for
posterity
or
the
Dear
Leader
or
the
good
of
the
people.
No,
the
ones
who
needed
mice
to
hear
my
story
were
the
people.
I
love
right
here
in
front
of
me
who
had
started
to
think
of
me
as
a
stranger,
but
your
friend
he
killed
the
people.
He
loved
right.
B
It's
unfortunate
I
know
there's
no
forgiving
him
for
it,
but
let
me
get
started
with
my
biography:
I
was
born
in
Pyongyang,
I
began
the
parents
who
were
factory
workers.
My
mother
and
father
were
older,
but
they
were
good
parents,
they
survived
every
worker,
purge
and
avoided
denunciation
and
re-education,
but
we
already
know
these
things.
My
father
said
his
breath
was
sweet
with
peaches,
I
told
him.
You
can't
talk
back
to
the
story
of
your
life.
B
It
was
late
when
I
appeared
in
commander
goz
room.
He
asked
is
it
morning
already
not
yet
I
told
him
there's
still
time
I'm
getting
a
new
life.
I
told
him.
Are
you
coming
with
me
and
he
nodded
I,
helped
him
across
Division
42
to
an
interrogation
Bay
where
I
rolled
him
into
a
baby-blue
autopilot
chair.
It
won't
be
a
bad
journey.
I
told
him.
On
the
other
side,
there
won't
be
pub
Yaak
or
cattle
prods
or
box
cutters.
B
Hopefully,
you'll
get
sent
to
a
rural
farm,
collective,
not
an
easy
life,
but
you
can
start
a
new
family
and
serve
your
nation
and
the
true
spirit
of
communism.
Through
labor
and
devotion,
I
told
you
commander,
Goss
said
I've.
Had
my
life
I
grabbed
two
sedatives.
When
commander
God
declined,
one
I
took
them
both
from
the
supply
cabinet,
I
flipped
through
the
diapers
until
I
found
a
medium.
Would
you
like
one
I
asked
we
keep
some
on
hand
for
when
VIPs
come
through.
It
can
save
some
embarrassment.
No
thanks.
B
B
He
looked
at
the
auto
pilots
wires
and
energy
meters.
There's
no
mystery.
He
said
the
actress
simply
defected.
You
never
stop.
Do
you
you're
about
to
lose
everything,
but
your
own
heart,
beeping
you're,
still
trying
to
throw
us
off
the
trail.
It's
true.
He
said
she
got
on
an
airplane
and
flew
away
impossible.
I
told
him
under
the
nose
of
the
Dear
Leader.
You
insult
me:
I
handed
him
a
pair
of
paper
booties.
B
He
said
on
his
baby-blue
chair
and
I
said
online
and
together
we've
removed
our
shoes
and
socks
to
put
them
on
not
to
insult
you.
He
said,
but
whose
pictures
do
you
think
are
on
my
phone,
my
wife
and
children
vanish,
but
then
from
far
away
photos
of
a
woman,
her
children
appear.
Is
that
such
a
mystery?
It's
a
conundrum,
I'll,
admit
I,
pondered
it
much,
but
I
know
you
killed
the
people
you
loved,
there's
no
other
way.
He
indicated
the
leather
restraints
you're
not
gonna.
B
Put
those
on
me
are
you
I
have
to
I'm
sorry
I
told
him.
I
need
people
to
know
that
I
did
this
to
you
and
not
the
other
way
around.
I
reclined
his
chair
then
strapped
down
commander
goz
legs
and
arms.
It
did
him
the
favor
of
lady
leaving
the
buckles
pretty
loose
I'm.
Sorry
I
didn't
manage
to
finish
your
biography.
I
told
him
if
I
hadn't
failed,
I
could
have
sent
your
biography
with
you.
So
when
you
reached
the
other
side,
you
could
read
who
you
were
and
become
you
again.
Don't
worry.
B
He
told
me
she'll
be
on
the
other
side.
She'll
recognize
me
tell
me
who
I
am
I
can
offer
you
this
I
said
holding
up
a
pen.
If
you
like,
you
can
write
your
name
someplace
on
your
body
a
place.
They
won't
notice
between
your
toes.
Perhaps
that
way
later,
you
might
discover
who
you
were.
Are
you
going
to
do
it?
B
He
asked
me
I,
don't
want
to
know
who
I
was
I
said:
I,
don't
even
know
what
name
I'd
write
gaaah
said:
I
knelt
to
connect
all
the
electrodes
to
his
green
cranium,
relax
I
said
this
isn't
an
end
to
your
story.
He
said
my
story's
ended
ten
times
already,
yet
it
never
stops
orphans,
friends
commanding
officers,
I
won't
last
them
all.
This
isn't
the
end
to
you,
I
told
him.
It's
a
new
beginning
when
you
haven't
outlasted
your
friends,
we're
friends.
B
Aren't
we
he
stared
at
the
ceiling
like
a
parade
of
people
he'd
once
known
was
passing
there.
I
know
why
I'm
in
this
blue
chair,
he
said
what
about
you
aligning
all
the
red
and
white
wires
leading
from
his
skull
was
like
braiding
hair.
This
used
to
be
a
place.
I
told
him
where
meaningful
work
was
done
here.
A
citizen
was
separated
from
his
story.
That
was
my
job
of
the
two.
B
It
was
the
story
that
was
kept
while
the
person
was
disposed
of
was
okay
with
that
in
this
way
many
serve
the
subversives
were
discovered,
but
now
God
turned
to
look
at
me.
Yes,
now
the
person
is
lost
along
with
this
life.
I
just
have
the
output
dial
of
his
autopilot
God
had
a
strong
mind,
so
I
said
it
at
8:00.
Tell
me
again
how
intimacy
works.
I
demanded
of
him.
It
turned
out
to
be
easy.
God
said
you
tell
someone
everything
the
good
the
bad.
B
What
makes
you
look
strong
and
what's
shameful
as
well,
if
you
killed
your
husbands,
what
if
your
wife's
husband
you
got
to
tell
her
I
told
you
everything
best
as
I
was
able
I
nodded.
It
was
satisfying
to
hear
again
it
restored
my
inner
calm
without
my
parent
with
my
parents,
I
had
finally
been
intimate
and
commander
God
was
my
friend.
Despite
the
lie
about
the
actress
being
alive,
he
so
fully
digested
it
that
somehow
it
had
become
true
to
him,
but
his
twisted
logic.
He
was
telling
me
his
friend.
B
The
absolute
truth,
see
you
on
the
other
side,
I
said
he
fixed
his
eyes
at
some
point
that
didn't
exist.
My
mother
was
a
singer.
He
said
when
he
closed
his
eyes:
I
flipped,
the
switch
he
made,
the
usual
involuntary
motions,
eyes,
flashing
arm
levitation
gulping
for
air.
Like
a
carp
at
the
surface
of
a
meditation
pond.
B
My
mother
was
a
singer
where
his
last
words
as
if
they
were
the
only
ones
he
could
trust
to
describe
who
he'd
been
I
climbed
into
the
next
blue
chair,
but
I
didn't
bother
with
the
restraints
I
wanted
the
Pooh
be
up
to
know.
I'd
taken
my
own
path,
I
hooked
up
my
own
wiring,
harness
it
turned
my
attention
to
the
auto
pilots.
Output.
B
Dial
I
never
wanted
to
remember
a
thing
about
this
place,
so
I
said
it
at
eight
and
a
half,
but
then
again,
I
didn't
want
a
lobotomy
either
I
justed
it
to
seven
and
a
half,
and
if
I
was
being
intimate
with
myself,
I
could
also
admit.
I
was
afraid
of
the
pain
I
settled
for
six
trembling
with
hope
and,
strangely
regret,
by
finger
flip,
the
switch
my
arms
rose
before
me.
They
looked
like
someone
else's
arms,
a
tongue
of
electricity,
licked
deep
inside
my
brain
probing
as
molars
are
inspected
after
a
meal.
B
Everything
was
singular:
the
gleam
of
a
metal
armature,
the
violent
green
of
a
fly's
eye.
There
was
only
the
thing
itself
without
connection
or
context
as
if
everything
in
your
mind
had
become
unlinked
to
everything
else,
blue
and
leather
and
chair
I
couldn't
put
them
together.
The
fine
hairs
in
my
nose
stiffened,
my
erection
stood
abominable
and
alone.
I
saw
no
I,
see
white
peak
or
flower
I
scanned
the
room
for
them,
but
saw
only
elements,
shine,
slick,
coarse,
shade,
I
became
aware
of
commander
gone
moving
beside
me.
B
He
had
an
arm
free
from
its
restraint
and
he
was
reaching
for
the
dial.
I
saw
him
turn
it
to
maximum
a
lethal
dose,
but
I
could
worry
about
him.
No
longer
I
was
on
my
own
voyage.
Soon,
I
would
be
in
a
rural
village,
green
and
peaceful,
where
people
swung
their
scythes
in
silence.
There
would
be
a
widow
there.
We
would
waste
no
time
on
courtship
I
would
approach
her
and
tell
her.
I
was
her
new
husband.
B
Soon,
our
genitals
would
intercourse
in
a
way
that
was
correct
and
satisfying
at
night
after
I
made
my
a
mission,
we
would
lay
there
listening
to
the
sounds
of
our
children
in
the
dark
catching
summer.
Frogs.
My
wife
would
have
the
use
of
her
eyes,
so
she
would
know
when
I
blew
out
the
candle
in
this
village
I
would
have
a
name
and
people
would
call
me
by
it.
When
the
candle
went
out.