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3.9 AVERAGE

medium-paced
Strong character development: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

One of the most spectacular books I’ve read, no question. The sheer depth of the characters is incredible, and it’s amazing how much each individual feels so fully realized. I found it just absolutely captivating.

Picked this up because I absolutely loved Pachinko, but Pachinko this was not. It was an easy enough read—I actually found myself flipping through it fairly quickly, but the story overall just didn't reach the depths that I think the author was aiming for. Perhaps I would feel differently if a majority of the characters were over 25, but to me, this felt like a coming-of-age of people that never really arrived anywhere. The more interesting parts of the story were those dealing with varying parent-child relationships, as well as morality and success, but those seemed to take a back burner to various (spoiler) cheating scandals. Was hoping for more.

Awful book. I was interested in the topic and it got a great review in the Times but I don't recommend it.
emotional reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
dark emotional funny reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

this was a little too long & a little too depressing but it was an interesting story
challenging dark reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I did not love and barely liked anyone in this book but begrudgingly am interested now in main character Casey Han, and I think that in and of itself is a feat given where we started; I can see how Min Jin Lee went on to write Pachinko and for what this book did to prepare her I am grateful, but also it left me mostly feeling sad for everyone mentioned