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racerreads's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Cancer, and Grief
Moderate: Xenophobia, Violence, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, and Sexual content
zarlynsnook's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
this books reminds me of the frist time i read the kite runner and another korean historical novel, year of a thousand goodbyes.
at some point,reading these books makes me feel guilty of being oblivious to the parts of our history these books have told.
Pachinko.
i've been meaning to read this book since 2019.i even posted about it being the book i'm currently reading but just like some other books on my then tbr, it was one of those books where i have to find the perfect time and mood to read.
writing this review, my thoughtswhile always circles back to the time i first learned about the division of the Korean Peninsula. it wasn't from my history class in highschool but from a 20-peso book i found from booksale, year of a thousand goodbyes by sook-nyul choi. that book was an eye-opener for me. my knowledge about Korea back then was limited to Korean dramas and k-pop groups that started to become popular here in the π΅π. for some reason, i got a bit sense of maturity having to read that book and knowing about what the 38β ΒΊ parallel meant.(again, i remembered that book when i saw the k-drama, Crash Landing on You).
Having to read Pachinko now was somehow, a continuation of the history class i've had from that book many years ago.
while YoTG tells the story of a family left in Korea during its tumultous years of oppression, Pachinko told the story of many who was left with no choice but to leave and brave the challenges of finding safety in the country of their oppressors.
Sunja is like Korea itself. she was divided, at first by her past and her present β Hansu and Isak. Then again with her two sons, Noa and Mozasu whom in my opinion,suffered the same but different fate.
History has failed us,but no matter.
it indeed, failed Sunja and her family in a lot of ways. the decisions Sunja was forced to make throughout her life has affected the rest of her family and somehow, would also dictate the decisions of the generations to come.
this book left me half in awe and half in tears. i did not expect the book to end that way,and i also did not expect to be this hurt with that ending. i thought it would be a bittersweet ending but that is so naive of me to think because the opening line has already said it 'history failed us'. the 'no matter' part i guess,simply implies that despite everything, as human beings, we are initially inclined to keep going in life even if it fucked us over many times.
to sum up my review, this book broke me.
5β
Graphic: Sexism, War, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Violence, Suicide, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Deportation
squidknees's review against another edition
- 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
Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Violence, Stalking, Sexual violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Racism, Body shaming, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Misogyny, Xenophobia, War, Terminal illness, Antisemitism, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Death of parent, Suicide, Slavery, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Abortion, Ableism, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Deportation, Trafficking, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, and Racial slurs
aexileigh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Religious bigotry, Ableism, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Sexism, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexual content, War, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Alcohol, Cancer, Chronic illness, and Classism
rieviolet's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.0
There were just too many characters, especially given that the book already covers a very long period of time and many generations of a family. I really think that some characters were just unnecessary additions and we could have done without their perspectives, so that more space could be given to the main ones. All the jumping between so many different points of view just made it hard to become invested.
Moreover, very big and even traumatic events are just briefly explored or worse just mentioned in passing. This character died, this one entered a relationship , and so-and-so did that, well good for them, am I supposed to care? There is no groundwork, how can a reader get attached to these people and their stories when you as an author have given them so little? Well there was time to go on and on about George Elliot's novels but no time to delve into a main character' emotions, I guess.
I was just not a fan of how the author portrayed the characters, if there isn't a good handling of their depictions then the story just turns into an over-the-top soap opera.
I found interesting the setting and the overall theme (exploring the lives of Korean people and their descendants living in Japan) but I was not that impressed with the execution itself.
For its length, the book is quite easy to get through, the chapters are not too long, the pace is quite fast and the narrative style is readable enough. Still, the writing style is nothing much to talk about, overall it's a bit too much dry and matter-of-fact for my taste.
All in all, the premise sounded good but the book was a disappointment for me and the three-star rating is basically only for the first section, the rest I'm wilfully choosing to ignore.
Graphic: Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Alcoholism, Ableism, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Bullying, Chronic illness, Classism, Suicide, Religious bigotry, War, Stalking, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Police brutality, Miscarriage, Trafficking, and Cancer
Minor: Terminal illness, Child death, Physical abuse, Infertility, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Blood, Rape, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Torture, Car accident, Abortion, and Body shaming
stvalentine's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Hate crime, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Death, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, Suicide, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Racism, Religious bigotry, Violence, and War
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Colonisation, Confinement, and Cursing
chaoticnostalgia's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Infertility, Death, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Classism, Xenophobia, War, Suicide, Terminal illness, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Colonisation, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcohol, Cancer, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Bullying, and Car accident
Minor: Abortion, Ableism, Deportation, and Abandonment
mondovertigo's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Racism, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Death, Pregnancy, Misogyny, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: War, Bullying, Ableism, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Adult/minor relationship, and Suicide
Minor: Dementia, Child death, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Cancer, and Trafficking
readingwithcoffee's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Murder, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Cancer, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Confinement, Classism, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Racism, War, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Car accident, Body shaming, Bullying, Abandonment, Rape, Infidelity, Infertility, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Blood, Alcoholism, and Abortion
scifi_rat's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Prose: 4.5 β
Pace: 4 β
Concept/Execution: 4.5 β /5 β
Characters: 5 β
Worldbuilding: 5 β
Ending: 4 β
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Misogyny, Colonisation, Racism, and Sexism
Moderate: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Abortion, Child death, Grief, Pregnancy, Suicide, Bullying, Classism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Cancer, Alcohol, Body shaming, and War
Minor: Infertility, Murder, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Hate crime, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Deportation, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Stalking, and Trafficking