Reviews

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

amurcia91's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

tianaosuoha's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

4.5

saunteringvaguelydownward's review against another edition

emotional informative tense 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? It's complicated

kartika04's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.5

abrockli's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

4.75

mspiggy21's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

delafork's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

aibibyreads's review against another edition

4.0

I started off by watching Season 1 of the show. I got so caught up and enjoyed it that I had to read the book. Everyone knows the movie or shows do not do the books any justice.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Since watching season 1 of the show and reading the book, I can see how far the show is pushing the storyline. This story had me in tears. She worked so hard for her family, and went through a lot. It also covers the history of Japan and Korea at the time.

Worth reading!

tplaren's review against another edition

emotional 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? Yes

4.0

teamlarson's review against another edition

5.0

This story is everything I want in a book. I will always be enamored by historical fiction. I was enlightened to the Japanese colonization of Korea, Christianity in Asia, culture of both Koreans and Japanese, the treatment of Koreans in Japan, and the expectations of a Korean woman. Following generations of a Korean family, Pachinko highlights family, culture, love, poverty, wealth, food, politics, and death. But mostly it’s about life. Pachinko is the perfect title and could not be improved upon. Is life like a game of pachinko? Is it all fixed to win or lose, and all you need is a little luck to change everything? This book was so captivating and easy to read. The mundanity of it all made the characters feel so real and I needed to know what happened to every member of the family (and every character that becomes family). The different point of views flowed so effortlessly and the pacing was perfect. This story is so important and I’m sure I’ll think about it often.