PositiveNPRMary comes to life in many of the 10 stories that Mr. Fox creates, but she also comes off the page to haunt, help and entertain both Daphne and Mr. Fox in their everyday lives, which, thanks to Mary, aren't so everyday. Oyeyemi dares us to wonder what exactly Mary is: an author's inspiration or something more complex — a charming combination of ghost, conscience, marriage counselor and heroine … Oyeyemi has a tireless imagination and doesn't stay put for long. It can feel like a jolt when she intermittently detours out of Mr. Fox's world of stories and returns us to his and Daphne's struggling marriage. But it's a testament to the strength of Oyeyemi's concept and its brilliant execution that, like Mr. Fox, we much prefer to escape into his inner life than to confront his reality.
Adam Johnson
RaveThe San Francisco ChronicleTrickily, The Orphan Master's Son is both unbound by the truth and indebted to it … Johnson beautifully tempers the horrors of his tale – torture, rape, starvation, pestilence and more – with humor and heart. Part of his balancing act includes showing us not only a thorough, educated guess at North Korea, but also how America might look to a North Korean.
