Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

55 reviews

blanketenjoyer's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

jomima's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

Beautiful. The characters and relationships were incredibly detailed, and the prose is interesting to read. sunja is such a strong character.

it's a shame Noa's life was cut short like that, i was really shocked.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Violence, and Xenophobia

Minor: Cursing, Alcohol, and War

storykath's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

One of those books where every time things start going okay you know it's about to get much much worse, but so compellingly written that I was engaged throughout.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Racism, and Suicide

Moderate: Addiction, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Classism

Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Grief, Car accident, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Deportation

telcontar2901's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, and Stalking

Moderate: Bullying, Infidelity, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism

Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Car accident, Abortion, and Abandonment

readbycarina's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Car accident

Minor: Abortion and Alcohol

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Child abuse, Infertility, Vomit, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Abortion

readwithserena's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective 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

4.75

A moving story following generations of A Korean family during and after Japanese annexation of Korea. The exploration and varied perspectives on national identity is well done.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Abortion, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Child death, Death, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and War

alisonannk's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

Minor: Gun violence, Murder, Outing, Cultural appropriation, and Alcohol

nytephoenyx's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-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

Pachinko follows the lives of four generations of Koreans as everything they know is torn apart and their identities are challenged by prejudice and war. This book takes us from rule South Korea into the major Japanese cities and tells the story of the diaspora formed after World War II. While most of the story centers around Sunja, the second generation, in each POV we experience a different kind of struggle, both internal and external. It’s a fascinating and a heartbreaking study.

I often struggle to read books without immediate, clear plot. That was not the case with Pachinko. While there is no linear destination, each character has plenty of obstacles they need to overcome. Almost all of these obstacles are grossly unfair and driven by racism or elitism. From Noa, we see the intense bullying Korean students have to endure. Through Mozasu, we see the struggle to carve out a successful place in the world despite the world assuming you are crooked and dishonest. Kyunghee, one of my favorite characters, shows us that racism is relentless, even if the person does everything culturally correct. All of these stories are told in a historical context, most of them taking place entirely in Japan, and the story leaves us at the 1980s. That said, it’s easy to see where 40 years after the end of the book, these racist prejudices and multi-generational struggles persist today.

While Pachinko focuses specifically on a Korean family, we do see hints of the lives of Japanese individuals as well. There are many kinds of relationships represented in Pachinko, and I applaud Min Jin Lee for including LGBTQIAP+ representation as well. The Japanese characters of this story are struggling to reckon their actual identify with their expected identity. For one, this is his sexuality. For another, it’s her role as a mother. There is only one Japanese-American character, but even in her, we see the weight of the diaspora as she is unable to connect with her cultural identity.

There are a swarm of conversations to be had about Pachinko and the characters in this book. I think if I read it again, it would feel like an entirely new story. It’s sad and it’s sweet and the writing outlines the hum of life and the forced acceptance within its pages. Pachinko is a book that will make you think, and it will make you want to learn more.

I wholeheartedly recommend Pachinko to any reader who can handle a slow-paced slice of life book. The pacing is purposefully slow, so you can’t fly through it the way a reader can with high action books. It’s such a worthwhile read, thought-provoking, delicately woven, complex, and enlightening. This is one of those books you put on your “books to read before I die” list.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Grief, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia, Abortion, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

isgbv's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Racism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Alcohol, and War