Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

99 reviews

aerinreads's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

ntvenessa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

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

4.25

A gem. This is a tale about poverty, suffering, colonialism, identity, salvation, endurance, family. Min Jin Lee's background as a historian shines through and Pachinko is exemplary of great historical fiction. It is factually consistent and you will learn much of Japan's colonisation of Korea, a topic not so in regular discourse. It is also emotional, generous, and sensitive to these historical facts. The characters are distinct and each have personalities which make sense for their context. It is intergenerational. The story is just so well crafted. This makes sense given how much time and dedication Lee spent workshopping drafts. I am normally averse to thick novels, but Pachinko has me unafraid -- it is exactly as long as the story needs to be, and moreover, it is easy to read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Suicide, Car accident, and Abortion

Minor: Child death and Homophobia

thebookishbedouin's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad 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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Cancer, Physical abuse, Suicide, and War

Minor: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Torture, and Abortion

edensbookshelf's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Classism

charlereads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, and War

mxpringle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: War

eknuts17's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative inspiring tense 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? No

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism

kimveach's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

I read this book in two forms: hardcover and audio. I preferred listening to it. It's a beautiful, mostly sad, story of a Korean family living in Japan. The struggle of Koreans who were not fully accepted into Japan, either legally or socially, was new to me.  I'm glad I read this and learned about this piece of history.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Dysphoria, and War

Minor: Medical content

livingamongpages's review against another edition

informative sad slow-paced

4.0

Debo decir que este libro me recuerda mucho a uno de mis favoritos, Cien Años de Soledad. 

El poder ver el crecimiento de está familia, ver por las situaciones que han pasado para poder salir adelante es inspirador, porque ha pesar de que es una novela de ficción, está inspirada en la situación que ha vivido la sociedad coreana y japonesa y de seguro hubo miles de familias que han pasado situaciones similares o peores a las descritas en esta historia.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, and Colonisation

lschmidt's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This is a historical family saga set in Korea and Japan throughout the 20th century. It follows four generations of a Korean family through the political turmoil of Japanese colonization, the hardship of wartimes, seeking a new and better life in Japan, and witnessing the home they left become divided into two countries they hardly recognize.

As someone who knows very little about Korean history, this book ... teaches us a chapter of modern history we might not have been aware of.

Many Koreans found themselves forced to move to Japan to find jobs for their families, but they faced discrimination and disgusting living conditions when they arrived. Pachinko, we soon find out, is a kind of Japanese arcade game, and working in a pachinko parlor was considered a typical job for a Korean looking to get ahead. Many Japanese looked down upon pachinko parlor workers, viewing them as shady and dishonest, and owners of pachinko parlors were often referred to as "gangsters".

It was both interesting and deeply saddening to hear about what these people went through, how easy it was for Koreans to be imprisoned indefinitely without trial. And after years of hardship and discrimination, after pushing through and finally earning enough money to have stability, many could never go back. Korean-Japanese (third, fourth, fifth generation even) were refused citizenship in Japan but most came from North Korea, a place they could no longer safely return to.

The fictional characters the author creates come sparking off the page - from the resilient Sunja who once foolishly believed in the love of an older man, to Noa who will never quite recover from the dishonor of his lineage, to Solomon who is still trying to escape the negative stereotypes associated with Koreans many years after his grandmother arrived in Japan. It is a heartbreaking story and, sadly, much of this book was the reality for many Koreans.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and War