Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

187 reviews

ainadei's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Wow. It's hard to sum up what to say. There were times I felt sadness, but couldn't even cry because that was just life. This is truly a story about the world and family, and it has been a while since something has shook me like this.

"Go-saeng, a woman's lot is to suffer."

Oddly enough, though this is repeated in the book, there isn't much said about the determination and sheer willpower Sunja had carried within her, her entire life. I truly felt everything; the times I allowed myself to be vulnerable to this book, I found myself shedding a few tears.

A beautiful but harrowing experience.

If you want non-complex characters, a happy ending describing more than survival, or a lighthearted read, stay 50 yards from this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Xenophobia, Child death, War, Suicide, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Violence, Death, Abortion, and Death of parent

Minor: Homophobia

andyourstruly's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

If you liked East of Eden, you will like this book a lot.  It has great symbolism, and the way the perspective bounces around feels very classic and manages to avoid overexplaining or getting distracted from the story the author intends to tell.  There are a number of really excellent and well-developed characters living through remarkable times, and the author does a marvellous job expressing the ideas and attitudes behind historical behaviors and ideals and the shift that has occurred over time.  Really well-researched, well-paced, and well-written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation

Moderate: Abortion, Racism, Terminal illness, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Ableism, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcohol, Torture, Police brutality, Child death, Trafficking, War, and Deportation

delaneybarry's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, War, Suicide, Grief, Colonisation, Death, Classism, and Racism

Moderate: Death of parent and Child death

thatsssorachael's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs

Moderate: Rape and Death of parent

Minor: Miscarriage and Child death

sofireads8's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Suicide, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Infertility, Abortion, and Miscarriage

sunflowerwork's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, War, Alcohol, Suicide, Child death, Colonisation, Racism, Abortion, Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexism, Hate crime, Grief, Miscarriage, Car accident, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, Classism, Death, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Addiction

nostalgicbaby's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia

Moderate: Suicide, Death of parent, and Physical abuse

Minor: Addiction and Miscarriage

applesodaperson's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book was unimaginably amazing. It is just such an epic and large scale and compelling book. It just shows how far the medium of literature can truly go. This is like 4 books all in one, which shows how talented this author is.
My favorite thing about this book was how every character felt so distinct and individual. This is impressive because there are so many characters. But they all have their own struggles and personalities. And I pretty much never had a hard time remembering who was who. In fact, this book was so fun to read because the writing style was so well done that the words just went straight into my head and I could see the events happening like a movie. And this aided in me becoming so incredibly attached to the characters. Like I was so invested and was so heartbroken when bad things happened to them. Of course Sunja was my favorite and she was really the biggest main character. I loved her so much and loved how hard working she was. I also think that her complicated relationship with Hansu was very complex and compelling. Her sense of pride and her need for help and money were always in conflict. 
This book was almost perfect, but there was something that I didn't like.

I feel like the reasons behind Noa's suicide were not really explained which made it feel very unexpected and like it came out of nowhere.

But overall this book was amazing and I loved getting to learn more about Asian history and culture. I also feel like I could read this book every year for the rest of my life, and different things and characters and stories and themes would stand out to me every time I read it.
Read from the Provo library.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Child death, Death, Suicide, and War

hyperashley's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Miscarriage, War, Suicide, Child death, Racism, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, and Sexual assault

lgcpreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Sexism, Suicide, Death, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Abortion, Child death, Physical abuse, Racism, Bullying, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, and Violence