Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Pachinko

Pachinko is a fascinating examination of the consequences of Japanese prejudice and xenophobia against Korean immigrants. For instance, prior to reading this, I had no idea that many Koreans born in Japan had to maintain Korean passports despite often never having seen their ancestors' homeland. Another enlightening aspect of this novel that I appreciated was the non-western perspective of World War II. There aren't enough popular English-language books that explore that perspective.

I feel like I must admit that I really struggled to get into this book and enjoy it at first. Everything seemed so abrupt and impersonal. Each early chapter felt almost like a list of facts. This happened, that happened, so and so was born, so and so died, the end. It honestly reminded me of the Old Testament in the Bible at times. Too much information with little chance to connect or digest. However, the longer that I stuck with Pachinko, the more I realized that the impersonal quality is effective; even realistic. Real-life family histories are told the way they are in this story. Here's who came first and a few of their qualities and here's what happened next. And the impersonal nature of the novel's beginning faded as Lee introduced more and more of the new generations.

Despite its length and the initial detached characterization, Pachinko is a very well-done historical narrative. I will be thinking about all the characters in this book for some time - especially Sunja.

Spoiler warning:

I really hated Hansu and was upset by how often he reappeared. He groomed Sunja! And then she spends her whole life blaming herself and being blamed by her family for what they view as her choices. I know victim-blaming is historically accurate. However, I have seen so many reviews that are sympathetic towards him and I just don't understand it! I know he helped the family at times but all of his motivations are purely selfish and sexist.

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fairyribs's review against another edition

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

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

4.5

4.5- my god this book was amazing. Knocked off 0.5 because the ending was a bit…meh. But the themes, history and the ramifications of cultural genocide were heartbreaking but very necessary to read about.

I went into this book expecting it to be a history of the Japanese colonial rule but instead I got an intimate portrait of a family and it’s fight for survival during and after colonialism. I never knew that people like the Zainichi existed and to see how many of them came to be was quite illuminating, along with the discrimination many Korean-Japanese people face today.

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nicolesorial's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.75

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bandysbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense 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

This is a multi-generational story about a family. It starts in Korea, but moves to Japan and we see what the family goes through as they try to figure out their survival.

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alisonannk's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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jessgreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging 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? No

4.5

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

Title: Pachinko

Author: Min Jin Lee

Genre: Historical Fiction

Setting: Busan, Korea / Osaka, Japan

Month Read: April 2022

Book Type: Hardcover

Publication: 2017

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Pages: 490

*Book of the Month Selection

TRIGGER WARNING-

Racism / Sexual Content / Suicide / Genocide / Murder / War / Misogyny / Abuse / Religious Persecution (there are more, these are the big ones)

"Fill your mind with knowledge—it’s the only kind of power no one can take away from you."

No Spoiler Summary:

Pachinko is a multi-generational tale about a Korean family who moves/is displaced in Japan in the early 1900s. You follow Sunja through history to almost present-day, and also follow the tales of her family- her mother and father, her children, and those she forges familial relationships with throughout the novel.

You are taken through the arcs of history, from the Japanese invasion of Korea, to the Pachinko parlors of Osaka and beyond, where Koreans tried to make a living that would take themselves out of the raging, devastating poverty they experienced in their new land.

Review:

I'm so glad I finally got around to reading this truly fantastic novel. Sweeping, multi-generational (feminist?) tales have sort of been my jam this year, and along with The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois, Pachinko did not disappoint. I also loved that this partially took place near where The Island of Sea Women took place, so I was a little familiar with the setting, which is always a nice surprise when reading about a country you're not super knowledgeable about.

The characters in this novel are incredible, and I felt like they always kept me engaged, and interested in their hopes, plights, successes, and grief. You really want Sunja, and later on, her family, to do well, and to be okay in as best a way they can given the extremely racially motivated hatred that the Japanese gave to Korean settlers.

The book is long, and it's a little slow to pick up, so I wouldn't recommend it if this isn't your cup of tea, but once the story starts to move, you're buckled in for a pretty wild ride- especially after arriving in Japan. I learned a lot from this novel, and I really can't wait to dive into some more books about Korea, and I'm glad to have been able to read it in time to watch the show on Apple+!

Recommendation:

Korean Historical Fiction:

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

Multigenerational Family Dramas:

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

Booth by Karen Jow Fowler

"He was suffering, and in a way, he could manage that; but he had caused others to suffer, and he did not know why he had to live now and recall the series of terrible choices that had not looked so terrible at the time. Was that how it was for most people?"

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sanfriedchicken's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative 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? No

3.0

*FINALLY! SOME GOOD FUCKING FOOD!*

I liked this one. This big big book follows three generations of the Korean Baek family from Yeongdo, an island south of the peninsula in the early 20th century during Japanese occupation, to Japan in the 1980s where everything is different. Sunja, who I’m going to call the book’s main character, marries a Korean preacher and moves to Osaka after getting pregnant by a Yakuza in Yeongdo. From there, a story of perseverance, love, family and loss unfolds over 500 pages.

I liked this a lot. There were so many characters, but i felt that they were still characterised fairly well, even though we see each for what is sometimes just a short time. The book felt more solid in the beginning, then felt choppier as it got into the middle, exploring Noa and Mosazu’s lives.

Koh Hansu floating around the Baek family for literally the whole book felt… a little too good to be true. Like, their fate would have been dire if they didn’t have him around and that really grounded this book in the world of fiction for mer. No hate, and I’m not one to say fiction needs to be ‘realistic’. I just felt that with so much loss and the theme of ordinary folk being lost to history, the omnipresent, anonymous benefactor just seemed a little out there.

This book is long which isn’t a complaint. IMO it wasn’t long enough because there was one detail they didn’t follow up on, which i am VERY upset about. WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENS TO NOA’S KIDS AND WIFE AFTER THE SUICIDE? Wow got prohibited-level step-sibling fucking but we didn’t get an update on them??

I actually hate that Isak went out like that. The spaces in time between scenes were sometimes jarring. Sometimes felt like they could have been good if filled out a little. The ending was… unsatisfactory but i get it. I love how Sunja stared as an illiterate daughter of peasants and became a woman who leaves her Saint Laurent purse on the ground outside like its nothing lol.

Content Warnings

allisonshewfelt's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Pachinko follows four generations of a poor Korean immigrant family as they live life in Korea and Japan. A terrible choice is made by one of our main characters that affects the generations till the end of the book.

I adored the rich detail and characterization as well as the multiple povs. I appreciate that Lee didn't just focus on the stories of the main characters but also included the side characters. A lot of side characters even got their own chapters. The writing was of course gorgeous and addicting to read.

As someone who doesn't pay attention in history class, this book taught me more than any textbook would and kept my attention. Unlike textbooks where they just relay the facts, books like these focus on the characters and really help you understand and emphasize the historical situation. Many things shocked me. For example inflation and the high value of money as well as how Koreans were treated by the Japanese. Koreans could get imprisoned so easily for the smallest reasons and that really bothered me.

I did not expect to cry but what was I thinking? Of course I would if the story spans 4 generations someone ought to die.

I loved most of the characters so much and it was crazy how fast they grew up. I felt like I was a part of their family. The character deaths were so hard to go through because of this.

The opening line "History has failed us, but no matter" really showcases what this book will contain: the struggle of characters to keep going despite the prejudice. The covers for the paperback and hardcover both are great representations of the book too. I appreciate how the title also ties in with the book. Pachinko is a Japanese pinball game that relies on luck. There will be some winners and a lot of losers but you'll keep playing because you have hope that you'll be the lucky one.

This book deserves nothing less than 5 stars considering how much time and research was put into it. Like Lee took 30 years to write this! I'm so happy it got adapted. I already know the show is gonna be a masterpiece and I will be reading anything Lee writes.

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