Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

140 reviews

rkcobb's review against another edition

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Sexual content

Minor: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Classism

two step-cousins(?, boy 14 girl 17) have sex frequently

a 35 year old man impregnates a 17 year old girl

mstall_'s review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

5.0

If I could give this book 100000/10 stars, I would. 

By page five I knew this was going to be my favorite five star read of the year. Pachinko is a sweeping story of a Korean family in Japan that spans four generations -- from 1900 to 1989. Sunja, the main character of the book is a young girl when she finds herself pregnant and unmarried. What follows is an incredible story of love, resilience, family, and heartbreak. I think this story was also really connective for me because of my time spent in Japan. It was easy for me to draw up my own memories there. I can still hear the pachiko parlors as I walked up the side street to the train station in Yokosuka. 

Min Jin Lee did a phenomenal job writing a story that was painful and sad at times without making you feel complete obliteration (I'm looking at you A Little Life). While parts of the book are gut wrenching (August 1945) the theme of resiliency rings true. Despite colonization, political strife, racism,

suicide

and more, this family clings to one another and fosters a closeness that cannot be pierced. 

This book made me cry, twice actually. Five stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia and Grief

Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Pregnancy, and War

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Infertility, and Car accident

miishmiish's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-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

3.75

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and War

lgcpreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

kathmulderry's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Hate crime, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and War

isacarvalho91's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Genocide, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and War

my_weird_bookish_heart's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Death, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Grief, Pregnancy, and Classism

san_dra's review against another edition

emotional sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

karwc's review against another edition

emotional informative 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation, War, and Classism

laurajenkins's review against another edition

I kept hoping something would happen. Nothing but gratuitous sex. No plot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Grief, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment