Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

83 reviews

ritugp01's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-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

5.0

As the first book I read to commemorate 2023, Pachinko was an odd choice. It left me ruminating and thinking back to my own past, my own roots, my own extended family, and the role I play as the child of immigrants. Rather than starting anew for the year, it pulled me back and enveloped me in history: both Sunja's and my own.
The book began with powerful, to the point writing. Sentences were simple. In a way, it reminded me of the succinct nature of Hemingway, minus the required reaches for symbolism. Rather, the simplicity in Pachinko offered no hidden messages beyond the story it sought to share. It's simplicity offered a quiet, forthright sense of power and confidence within the long, windy, melancholic story. In this, Min Jin Lee was remarkable.
It's characters, whether that be in the quiet and strong Sunja, who spends most of her life fighting both inside and outside due to something that was done to her, or even in Phoebe, whose appearance was short, impactful, yet fully realized, became not just characters, but people I knew. For a story spanning four generations, a multitude of characters was to be expected, yet every single one of them seemed fully realized. Some other readers may feel that the side stories took away from the main family, but I disagreed. In a sense, it reminded me that Sunja and her family are not alone in this long fight we call living. Everyone else, every character that the family might have touched, were helpful in reminding me that Sunja's family was one of many. Sunja, Yangjin, Hoonie, Isak, Kyunghee, Noa, Mozasu, Solomon, and Yumi were some of my favorite characters and I know they will stay with me for some time.
Truly a modern classic.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Minor: Cancer, Miscarriage, Police brutality, and Abortion

novelisa's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Miscarriage, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Colonisation

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Torture, Medical content, Abortion, and War

c_dmckinney's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism

jamiejanae_6's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense 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: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Homophobia and Deportation

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

mlovesbooks's review against another edition

emotional inspiring sad slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, and Abortion

Minor: Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Fire/Fire injury, and Deportation

feathers4bookmarks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

Best family-saga/ multigenerational-saga I have read. This novel drew me in the way that a grandparent telling a family story does. I wasn’t reading it to find out what the ending was, but more just because I was so interested in their lives and the domestic struggles of the time/place. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Addiction

Minor: Chronic illness, Hate crime, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, and Cultural appropriation

cynthiabobinthia's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Xenophobia, and War

Moderate: Abortion

Minor: Addiction

tahsintries's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Racism, Suicide, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Genocide, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Infertility, and Abandonment

rachelsbookishlife's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Body shaming, Cancer, and Abortion