Reviews

The Pachinko Parlour by Elisa Shua Dusapin

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maragtzrbooks's review

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emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.0

kdahlo's review

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4.0

Short, coming-of-age(?) in your thirties. Reminded me a bit of Winter in Sokcho, in that it concerns waiting, interstitial spaces, failures of communication. I liked it.

groovygirl's review against another edition

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3.0

Had higher expectations for this.

Boring book with no plot. Claire doesn’t make any big realizations or anything… like I get the thing about not fitting in anywhere… just make connection elsewhere!!

I feel like the author tried to carry the story by describing the environment but it wasn’t done that well, maybe I just don’t like her writing style.

Meiko is the only redeeming character.

kalyaniwarrier's review

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adventurous emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

2.75

the book journeys around a Korean woman, who was raised in Switzerland, and her longing to visit Korea with her grandparents, who live in Japan. to be honest, i had bigger expectations when i was looking forward to read this book. since i’ve mentioned about my love for Korean and Japanese translations, i thought i would enjoy this book as much as i did the others too. but i was disappointed as i didn’t get to connect to the story, the characters seem quite dull too. it did seem like the narrator could have left to Korea if she wanted instead of waiting around for her grandparents to come onboard with the plan.

rozereads's review

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hopeful 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

3.75

wouterk's review

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4.0

A wonderful short story that reads like a beautiful art house film. We follow Claire who visits her grandparents in Japan. She plans to go to Korea with them, which is where they came from during the war. While in Japan she tutors a girl named Mieko who lives just with her mom.

In this book, identity, nationality and family are very prominent themes. We are also confronted with the long-lasting impact of war on all kinds of societal and personal phenomena. The book also gives a very honest and interesting tidbits about current life in Japan.

Beautifully written. When I was telling a friend about it we were both wondering how so much would fit in such a short book.