NATIVE SPEAKER by Chang-rae Lee

Henry Park is a Korean-American with an unusual job:  he is expected to cozy up to a particular person in order to get dirt on them.  After his assignment to a psychiatrist turns into a fiasco, he is offered redemption by having to join the volunteer staff of a rising political star named John Kwang, who is also Korean-American.  Park’s problem, if you want to call it that, is that he identifies too closely with his assigned mark, and empathy is not conducive to his getting the goods on anyone.  John Kwang in particular is respected and charismatic and offers hope to the New York Korean community that he will break down ethnic barriers.  The novel follows Henry’s gradual rise through the ranks of Kwang’s minions as well as the possible reconciliation between Henry and his wife, Lelia.  Their marriage has been ripped apart perhaps due to her ethical concerns about Henry’s job and by the accidental death of their young son. I’m not sure what the plot gains from this family tragedy, but, ironically, Lelia is a speech therapist who often works with children from non-English-speaking families.  These children sometimes feel like surrogates for her lost son, and Kwang is something of a stand-in for Henry’s deceased father.  Henry may be the protagonist here, but Kwang is the more intriguing character whose true self emerges, little by little, over the course of the novel.  The author keeps the tone of the novel on an even keel throughout, somehow amplifying, rather than diminishing, the shock value of some revelations.