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peachani's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Police brutality, and Violence
Minor: Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Car accident, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Trafficking
navayiota's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Colonisation, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Suicide, War, Xenophobia, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Car accident, Infidelity, and Miscarriage
scarafaggy's review against another edition
- 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
History has failed us, but no matter.
This book will stick with me for a while. It is a powerful story of a family trying their hardest to overcome everything that is thrown their way. Beware, because once you start, you will find it near impossible to put down!
Graphic: Colonisation, Death of parent, Death, Hate crime, Racism, Religious bigotry, Adult/minor relationship, Xenophobia, Violence, and Suicide
Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Misogyny
lschmidt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
As someone who knows very little about Korean history, this book ... teaches us a chapter of modern history we might not have been aware of.
Many Koreans found themselves forced to move to Japan to find jobs for their families, but they faced discrimination and disgusting living conditions when they arrived. Pachinko, we soon find out, is a kind of Japanese arcade game, and working in a pachinko parlor was considered a typical job for a Korean looking to get ahead. Many Japanese looked down upon pachinko parlor workers, viewing them as shady and dishonest, and owners of pachinko parlors were often referred to as "gangsters".
It was both interesting and deeply saddening to hear about what these people went through, how easy it was for Koreans to be imprisoned indefinitely without trial. And after years of hardship and discrimination, after pushing through and finally earning enough money to have stability, many could never go back. Korean-Japanese (third, fourth, fifth generation even) were refused citizenship in Japan but most came from North Korea, a place they could no longer safely return to.
The fictional characters the author creates come sparking off the page - from the resilient Sunja who once foolishly believed in the love of an older man, to Noa who will never quite recover from the dishonor of his lineage, to Solomon who is still trying to escape the negative stereotypes associated with Koreans many years after his grandmother arrived in Japan. It is a heartbreaking story and, sadly, much of this book was the reality for many Koreans.
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Car accident, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and War
chantal18's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexism, Xenophobia, War, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Racism, Racial slurs, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death, Car accident, and Adult/minor relationship
tenten's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
3.75
this book might've been ... too much for me. and i have read some really sad books (see: Brother, I'm Dying.) but something about Sunja's life just felt like ... throughout the book i kept being like, "damn can she catch a break!?" not just her but her family. it was like her line was cursed or something! i'd say out of all of them, Mozasu's life was the least traumatic but even then,
the thing i appreciated most about this book is how much i learned about Japanese colonialism and their treatment of Koreans. i knew Japan did bad things to Koreans, and other nations they colonized during WWII, but i had no idea that they had colonized Korea long before that. as someone raised in the US, i mostly hear about Japan as a victim of the US's brutal bombings, and indeed they were victims, but i feel like a lot of non-Asian americans do not know about the atrocities that Japan committed. it was wild to me that as late as 1989, a Korean who was born and raised in Japan couldn't even rent property in Japan without a guarantor like what the hell!!
i've seen people complain about how detached and straightforward the writing was, almost clinical, but ... i didn't hate it. i think it worked for the narrative, and even though it wasn't particularly emotional, i did cry when That happened to Isak.
all in all, i enjoyed the book. i didn't think it was boring at all and some of the actions that characters made frustrated me, even though i guess i understood them. i may be simple but for me, a judge of a good book is how much it made me feel different things, and i felt a lot with this one. a fine book!
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Pregnancy, War, Suicide, Police brutality, Colonisation, and Bullying
Minor: Abortion, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Child death, Confinement, Miscarriage, and Misogyny
emmagreenwood's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death, Abandonment, Sexism, Suicide, Infertility, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Death of parent, Grief, Violence, Abortion, Racism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Torture, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia
Minor: Medical trauma, Homophobia, Infidelity, Confinement, Alcoholism, Colonisation, and Alcohol
kfrickle's review against another edition
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual content
Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity, and Miscarriage
talkbookswithangela's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death of parent, Abortion, Xenophobia, Violence, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Suicide, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Infidelity, Infertility, Grief, Genocide, Death, Child death, Cancer, Abandonment, and Sexism
nobirdtennis's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness
Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, and Infertility