Adam Johnson, writer of THAT North Korea novel, on his absurd world
The Hong Kong International Literary Festival speaker, who won a Pulitzer Prize for The Orphan Master’s Son, talks about his lonely childhood and why his stories tend to veer towards the bizarre
THE SUCCESS OF The Orphan Master’s Son (Random House) turned Johnson almost overnight from what he calls a “normal writer” into one with celebrity status.
“North Korea is a topic that people care about around the world, so suddenly I started getting invited everywhere,” says Johnson, a professor of English at Stanford University, in the United States.
But there was a drawback to the international invitations – separated from his family he began to get lonely. The solution? Take them with him.
“Everywhere I go I drag my wife and kids,” says Johnson.
So, when he arrives for the Hong Kong International Literary Festival this week, he’ll do so accompanied by a family entourage of four.