Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

60 reviews

lovememore_'s review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Ableism and Suicide

Minor: Homophobia

gm_vak's review against another edition

adventurous informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, and Grief

Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

feranmi's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective 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

5.0

As immigrant myself, this book delves into the prejudice and discrimination immigrants face  everyday, even it is Korean Japanese people, it feels universal. The author writes about motherhood, religion and feminism and racism in a very authentic way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and War

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Ableism and Abortion

stevie's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

sydneybedell's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, and Pregnancy

Minor: Abortion

ntvenessa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

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

4.25

A gem. This is a tale about poverty, suffering, colonialism, identity, salvation, endurance, family. Min Jin Lee's background as a historian shines through and Pachinko is exemplary of great historical fiction. It is factually consistent and you will learn much of Japan's colonisation of Korea, a topic not so in regular discourse. It is also emotional, generous, and sensitive to these historical facts. The characters are distinct and each have personalities which make sense for their context. It is intergenerational. The story is just so well crafted. This makes sense given how much time and dedication Lee spent workshopping drafts. I am normally averse to thick novels, but Pachinko has me unafraid -- it is exactly as long as the story needs to be, and moreover, it is easy to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Suicide, Car accident, and Abortion

Minor: Child death and Homophobia

faeslily's review against another edition

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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

This is probably one of the most reflective books I've ever read in my life. I was so oblivious of Japan's occupation in Korea and how this caused a mass migration of Koreans to Japan looking for new opportunities, but this caused discrimination and even segregation in which Koreans (even the ones born in Japan) were treated as less than animals.
The characters were also well written, by the middle of the book I was so attached to them and even related them to members of my own family, even when our cultures are completely different, this means the author emphasized in writing realistic and organic characters focusing on their development and social dynamics, we see this even with smaller characters in the story and it seems like the author gave them every one a background. 
Definitely a must-read, and one of the best books of the year for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, Colonisation, and War

koreanlinda's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? No

5.0

I want to warn all Koreans. Do not read this book. No. Read this book, but be prepared to get your heartbroken, over and over and over again. If you are not Korean, read this book. It will give you a heartfelt understanding of the struggles that millions of Koreans have lived with on their own land and in their neighboring ones. 

Warning: People die in this book, and every death will break your heart like it broke Min Jin Lee, the author. What ached my heart more than the people who died was the people who didn’t and stayed alive because their lives were sometimes worse than being dead. 

‘Women are meant to suffer’ is a repeated line by women in this story. It tears my heart to witness the greatness in their full acceptance of their hardship and their persistence to make the most out of their dire situations. One thing that this book has thought me is that my ancestors were strong women who survived extremely cruel circumstances. 

Pachinko reminded me of Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi because both stories run through multiple generations. Pachinko is about people who moved from Korea to Japan during the Japanese occupation. Homegoing is about people who were taken from Africa to the United States in slavery. While these historical events can't be compared on an equal ground, I saw in both groups of people that trauma gets passed down and the only way it gets better is through care for each other. Sometimes it works, but sometimes it doesn’t. 

I deeply appreciate the author for writing this book. The story of Korean people who suffered in Japan is not told enough. Although my heart got raw, I am glad I was able to hear their stories through this book.

Review by Linda (she/they)
Twitter @KoreanLinda
Letter writer at DefinitelyNotOkay.com 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, and War

breezyreading's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Ableism, Racism, Suicide, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and Abortion

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Abortion

Ableist slurs, including one use of the r word

mxpringle's review against another edition

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

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: War