Adam Johnson on the Many Ways To Tell a Single Story

Adam Johnson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author known for his novels The Orphan Master’s Son and The Wayfinder. He is also an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and teaches creative writing at Stanford University. Johnson has received numerous awards, including the National Book Award, the Story Prize, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and the California Book Award. His works explore themes of resilience, cultural identity, and the complexities of storytelling. During a conversation at The Center for Fiction, Johnson discussed how his background and experiences shape his approach to writing, particularly his focus on fragmented narratives and multiple perspectives.

Johnson highlights the difference between oral storytelling traditions and written narratives. In oral traditions, stories are often shared in fragments over time, with details revealed gradually, such as a grandparent sharing bits of a story about their homeland during holidays. This method allows the listener to piece together the full narrative over time. In contrast, written stories, especially in Western traditions, often follow a structured format with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Johnson notes that this structured approach can feel artificial when trying to capture the raw, unfiltered experiences of people, such as North Korean defectors whose stories are shared in disjointed fragments due to trauma or memory.

Johnson explains that when he wrote The Orphan Master’s Son, he aimed to reflect the fragmented nature of the stories he heard from North Korean defectors. These stories were often told in pieces, out of order, and from shifting perspectives, which mirrored the trauma and emotional weight of the experiences. Johnson deliberately avoided a traditional linear narrative structure to stay true to the material. He removed the word novel from his working vocabulary because it carried too many Western literary conventions that might constrain the story’s authenticity. Instead, he allowed the narrative to unfold in a way that felt organic to the experiences of the people he was writing about.

Johnson discusses the dilemma faced by people who have experienced severe trauma, such as North Korean defectors. When they share their stories, the act of externalizing their pain can reopen old wounds, making the retelling emotionally devastating. Johnson observed that many people share their stories in small, manageable pieces over time, rather than all at once. For example, one defector recounted crossing the Yellow River in the first-person plural (we), describing a harrowing experience where a father lost his daughter in the water. The defector couldn’t immediately identify his own role in the story because the trauma was so overwhelming that it took time to process. Johnson’s writing reflects this struggle, using fragmented narratives to honor the complexity of such experiences.

Johnson emphasizes that his fragmented approach to storytelling places a greater responsibility on the reader. By leaving gaps in the narrative and shifting perspectives, he invites readers to actively piece together the story, much like they would in an oral tradition. This method can make the story less immediately accessible, as Johnson acknowledges that some readers have asked why he didn’t structure the narrative more conventionally. However, he believes this approach is necessary to stay true to the raw, unfiltered experiences of the people he writes about. The reader’s engagement becomes part of the storytelling process, creating a more immersive and authentic experience.

Amitav Ghosh, the author of the Ibis Trilogy and a bestselling novelist, served as the moderator for the conversation with Adam Johnson. Ghosh is known for his works that explore historical and cultural themes, such as The Circle of Reason, The Glass Palace, and The Great Derangement. In 2018, he became the first English-language writer to win the Jnanpith Award, India’s highest literary honor. During the discussion, Ghosh played a key role in guiding the conversation, asking Johnson about his writing process and the challenges of translating oral stories into written form. His presence added depth to the dialogue, particularly in exploring the intersection of storytelling traditions across cultures.