Reviews with content warning for Colonisation - Pachinko

So difficult to rate. I think I agree with so many of the 3&2 star reviews— the narrative in the third section of the book is quite unfocused and threads that introduce characters are never tied up. Haruki's wife's vignette, for example, was interesting, but didn't add anything to the story, and she was never included after that chapter. I had to wonder what was the point of her story, if only to further a trope of overly sexualized Japanese girls?

Solomon's story was overshadowed a bit by the melodrama that was Hana's saga, and I found her character over the top.

I also didn't care much for the audiobook narrator, who couldn't pronounce Korean nor Japanese words correctly.

Why pick a narrator that cannot speak the two languages that are central to the story? It was hard to listen to at times.

That being said, this book is so illuminating in terms of showing how Koreans were (and still are in many ways) discriminated against in Japan, and the effects that Japanese imperialism and colonialism had on generations of Koreans. Despite knowing a good amount of Japanese history, I didn't know much about Japan's colonization of Korea and even less about the Zainichi (ethnic Koreans born in Japan) and their lineages. it's an incredibly important part of history and too often overlooked, like so many stories of colonialism and imperialism. For that reason alone, I think it's deserving of 5 stars - that Min Jin Lee was able to weave the tapestry of four generations of a fictional family in a very real history is extremely impressive.

I just had to knock a star off for the disconnected ending and loose threads.

Content Warnings

jartone93's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative 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

4.5

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snipinfool's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

Pachinko told the story of four generations of a Korean family. The story began in 1910 near Busan, where a family ran a boarding house. Life was very hard as the Japanese had recently annexed Korea. The Japanese moved to Korea to take over the better paying jobs and changing the economy. The teenaged daughter had a relationship with an older man she met while shopping at the market. Sunja soon realized she was pregnant and told the father of her child, Hansu. She found out he was already married and had a wife and children in Japan. He wanted to care for her as his Korean wife, but Sunja did not want to be his mistress and cut off contact. She had shamed her family with the pregnancy and was likely to remain unmarried.. When an ill traveler came to stay at the boarding house, the family met Baek Isak. He was on his way to be a new pastor at a church in Osaka. Sunja and her mother, Yangjin, nursed Isak back to health. Isak was interested in marrying Sunja. He knew of her pregnancy, but he wanted a wife and wanted to give the baby his name. They married before leaving for Japan.

Life in Japan was just as difficult as it was in Korea. Few jobs were open to them as many did not want to hire Koreans. Most of the Koreans lived in the most poorest parts of towns and held the lowest paying jobs. The Yakuza or gangsters offered jobs that paid well and were often taken as a last resort to support a family. Sunja and Isak moved in with Isak's older brother and his wife. They continued to have difficulty making ends meet as both of men's jobs paid little. Sunja came into contact with her child's biological father who had moved back to Japan. He was a powerful man and wanted to be a part of his child's life. Over the years, Hansu moved in and out of the family's life as they struggled to make a life in Japan.

So much of this book was heartbreaking. The author, Min Jin Lee, interviewed many Koreans who lived through this time for her novel. Stories similar to this one were told over and over. The Koreans often felt as though they had no country. They were second class citizens in both Korea and Japan. The women in this story were the strength of the family. The men were the ones who went out of the house to work most of the time, but the women were the ones who were often tasked with making the money stretch and some found a way to add to the family's purse by raising pigs (indoors) or selling food or handmade goods in portable carts in addition to running the household. I loved all of the female characters. While I did not always agree with their choices, I knew they did what they had to do given the culture and the times. This family saga will stay with me for a long time. It was an excellent story.

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amasprout's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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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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kathmulderry's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I think this was my favorite book of the year. Generations of strong women, no sugarcoating. You feel all of the hardship, small glimmers of hope, loss. I wish I could speak more eloquently about this book and do it the justice it deserves.

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lipliplip's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

A beautifully written intergenerational family saga that covers the passage of time and distance in place incredibly well.

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Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

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rkcobb's review against another edition

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jartone93's review against another edition

snipinfool's review against another edition

amasprout's review against another edition

madelynh's review against another edition

kathmulderry's review against another edition

lipliplip's review against another edition