Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

95 reviews

abigailjblay's review

dark emotional informative reflective 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

2.0

Well written, just not for me but I'm sure many will enjoy this book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Death of parent, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, and Terminal illness

tinytrashqueen's review against another edition

emotional 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? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Grief, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Suicide

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Classism, Outing, Child death, Death of parent, Infertility, Infidelity, Ableism, Abortion, and Miscarriage

tinyjude's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

An emotional family saga set during and after Japan's colonisation of Korea and WWII up almost to the present. It deals with the difficulties experienced by Korean immigrants in Japan, the war, poverty, misogyny, classism and many more. Although fiction, it is still closely influenced by true events and provides an overview of the situation many Korean immigrants endured at that time. The amount of characters and the objective point of view sometimes made it a bit difficult to care deeply about them, but nonetheless I think it is a very important and insightful read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, War, Bullying, Classism, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Death, Hate crime, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racism, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Ableism, Homophobia, Infertility, and Pedophilia

Minor: Abortion, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, and Addiction

readbycarina's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Death, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Car accident, Child death, Infidelity, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Abortion and Alcohol

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Racism, Bullying, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Death, Classism, Misogyny, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Ableism, Suicide, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Rape, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Incest, Police brutality, Terminal illness, Child death, Stalking, and Medical content

Minor: Infertility, Addiction, Kidnapping, Abortion, Antisemitism, Vomit, Cancer, Car accident, and Child abuse

readwithserena's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective 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

4.75

A moving story following generations of A Korean family during and after Japanese annexation of Korea. The exploration and varied perspectives on national identity is well done.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Classism, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Bullying, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Trafficking, Xenophobia, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Abortion, and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual violence, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Infertility, War, Infidelity, Hate crime, Death of parent, Death, and Child death

savvylit's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Xenophobia, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Infidelity, Colonisation, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infertility, Alcoholism, and Abortion

Minor: Trafficking

nicolesorial's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Cancer, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, War, Ableism, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, and Sexism

alisonannk'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Classism, Death of parent, Grief, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Bullying, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, War, Death, Dysphoria, and Sexism

Moderate: Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Car accident, Child death, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Infertility

Minor: Alcohol, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Gun violence, and Murder

jessgreads's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Classism, Racism, Genocide, Adult/minor relationship, War, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Suicide, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Grief, Infidelity, Abandonment, Child death, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship