Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - Pachinko

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Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

22 reviews

thenoboshow's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

4.5

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andyourstruly's review against another edition

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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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madelynh's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

What a way to start the year. This is a gorgeous story of a family with all of the complexities of life handled so well. It covers a portion of history that I’m only vaguely familiar with so it’s interesting to see it from these character’s various but very personal perspectives, as well as seeing the times change subtly in the background along with the characters’ circumstances changing in parallel. All of the characters, even those whose perspectives are only shown for a paragraph or two, are so human - flawed and relatable and with the potential for a whole complicated story for themselves. That’s what I’ll keep thinking about from this book.

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jenrazzle's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense 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

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feainnewedd's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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

I've had Pachinko on my TBR for quite some time and I'm glad I finally got to read it. What a fascinating, heartwarming (but also heartbreaking) novel about four generations of a Korean family. I knew next to nothing about the dynamic between Koreans and Japanese during the period covered in this family saga (1910-1989), but this work of historical fiction taught me a lot.

Also, no spoilers, but one character's death shocked me so much I kept reading the paragraph over and over, and I think it will stay with me for a long time.

Rating it 4 out of 5 stars because

I feel like the last 1/3 or 1/4 of the book focused too much on side characters to the detriment of the others. For example, I wish the author had spent more time exploring the impact of Noa's disappearance and, eventually, his death on his family members, particularly his brother Mozasu.

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madzie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

Lee hits the ground running in this family saga; unfortunately, her pace peters out. The beginning of this book has it all. The characters are well-developed and interesting as they struggle with colonization, war, and relationships. Lee quickly and wonderfully establishes themes and creates excellent ideas to begin moving her plot along. She has a wonderful writing style throughout, which feels classic and epic. Her use of omniscient narration works very well for her story and characters. Every moment and insight into the characters feels like a very natural and intimate dialogue the reader is privy to.

Unfortunately, about two-thirds through the book, the characters, plot, and themes fall apart. Lee moves too fast through time, not allowing time to develop the later generation of her characters or the themes she has set up. Instead of exploring the point she is trying to make about life and the world, Lee falls into the trap of focusing on spurts of drama that make the reader feel empty due to lack of time for character building. She relies on tropes that occasionally go directly against her themes and certainly never adds anything to them.

Lee writes about a very intriguing and important part of history that is rarely told and starts off wonderfully with vivid characters and ideas. However, the novel's structure could have benefited more by building more on her later characters to round out her themes.

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