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4.36 AVERAGE
4.36 AVERAGE
Keeps your interest throughout with interesting and realistic characters.
I literally just finished this and I'm still speechless.
What a rich, sprawling saga with deeply researched history and fascinating characters that felt real. I was riveted and at times finding this novel hard to put down. I appreciated that we weren't presented an easy story but a fascinating one.
I will, and already have, recommend this to many. It's a worthwhile, I think necessary, read.
What a rich, sprawling saga with deeply researched history and fascinating characters that felt real. I was riveted and at times finding this novel hard to put down. I appreciated that we weren't presented an easy story but a fascinating one.
I will, and already have, recommend this to many. It's a worthwhile, I think necessary, read.
Usually I am compelled (100% compulsive, thanks job search quiz) to pick up the international bestseller everyone’s been raving about, the one that's made people cry, shake, and see the world differently just to see if it lives up to the hype. And this time? It does! I don't need to be a dissenter!
Pachinko is a sweeping, multi-generational family saga that begins in a small Korean village in 1910 and stretches through decades of Japanese occupation, war, and migration, ending in 1989. At its core is Sunja, a strong and quiet woman whose resilience shapes the legacy of her family. Through her story, and the stories of her children and grandchildren, Min Jin Lee explores identity, race, history, survival, and what it means to find belonging in a world that refuses to accept you.
What struck me most was how readable this nearly 500 pages novel is; I flew through it. The prose is deceptively simple, the characters are alive. As a reader, I received historical facts with deep emotional resonance. I knew very little about the Japanese colonization of Korea or the discrimination Koreans faced in Japan before reading this. Now I feel like I’ve learned so much, but never in a way that felt like a history lesson because it’s all deeply embedded in the lives of the characters.
The metaphor of pachinko (a rigged, chaotic gambling game that gives players little control over outcomes) is a powerful one. It mirrors how these characters, especially the Koreans in Japan, navigate a system designed to keep them marginalized. Every decision they make is a chance, a pull of the lever, hoping for dignity and survival. Sometimes the pachinko metaphor felt a bit on the nose, and I didn’t love how late in the book it became a more overt plot device, but its thematic weight carries.
The first two-thirds of the novel were nearly flawless for me. From the quiet strength of Sunja and her mother Yangjin to the tragic beauty of Isak’s devotion and Kyunghee’s kindness, the early characters are unforgettable. The last third did feel more rushed and less emotionally textured. I didn’t love how the arcs for Noa and Solomon played out, especially Solomon, whose storyline felt abrupt and underdeveloped.
That said, this novel is still epic in scope but intimate in feeling, rich in history but deeply human. I especially appreciated the way Lee explores questions of identity, shame, loyalty, and resilience without ever preaching.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-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
any cross-generational story about the struggles of cultural identity that don't align with your country of residence,,, yeah i am gonna be bawling my eyes out
This was a wonderful book but I don't believe adults should be writing about children having sex, no matter the context. A historical fiction does not mean writing sex scenes between minors is okay.
adventurous
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:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
a wonderful story spanning three generations and recounting the lived experience of Korean Japanese (and many others too). Sometimes the writing bothered me because it felt ooc at times, not sure if it was because of the frequent time jumps and pacing but there were also other descriptions that threw me off, e.g. a girl covering her manga-pretty face… what 😭