Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

205 reviews

remusritch's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, and Rape

bites_of_books's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense 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? No

5.0

Yes, I truly love well-crafted historical fiction that spans generations and this one did not disappoint. 

The characters are complex and multidimensional, the prose is beautiful and careful in how it describes each event and each decision made by the characters. The historical context is given without it being overwhelming or dry and it makes it all feel urgent. 

I breezed through this book and I'll definitely pick up other works by Min Jin Lee. Highly recommend! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Deportation, Homophobia, Infidelity, Suicide, War, Xenophobia, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Body shaming, Car accident, Addiction, Child death, Racial slurs, Classism, Infertility, Religious bigotry, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

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

4.0

I think the book was very enlightening and contemplative.  It really required the ability to step back with an open mind and for myself, who is not Korean, embrace myself into a different culture to be able to understand the tug of the characters.  It was interesting that it followed 4 generations of people and there were sad themes throughout.   Probably the most frustrating part was the development of characters and sub plots that never really developed past the initial story- so you’re left wondering what Happened to them and a little bit of wasted energy in getting emotionally attached to their story.  Overall, a great read with some really powerful and thoughtful themes throughout. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Infertility, Suicide, Miscarriage, Colonisation, War, Classism, Bullying, Violence, Sexual content, Racism, Death, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Domestic abuse

page_karla's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Abortion, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Infertility, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Racism, Abandonment, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Sexism

a_lf05's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

I don't have much to say about this book but it was definitely really good !! going into this I was worried it would be a bit slow going through four (?) generations but it was very engaging and generally the characters were very well written and felt like real people !!

Some of the storylines that didn't revolve around sunja's immediate family felt a little forgotten at times but I can forgive that 🙏🙏

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation

Moderate: Racism, Adult/minor relationship, and War

Minor: Abortion and Bullying

kbookish's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

adoto's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-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

3.5

I don't think I got hooked into this book until shit hit the fan. It's medium-paced but dense. 

I think it does a really good job of what the author wanted to do, which is honestly reflect the varied experiences of being a Korean in Japan. It's also a beautiful ode to migrant grit and resolve. It just didn't grab me the way I expected it to. I would recommend it to a friend but never reread it.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, Classism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Violence, Death, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Classism, Child death, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Sexual content, Homophobia, Colonisation, and Alcohol

Minor: Police brutality, Suicide, Sexual assault, Abortion, Mental illness, Trafficking, Miscarriage, and Cancer

serendipitous_mess's review against another edition

informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Colonisation, and Xenophobia

bookrecsondeck's review against another edition

emotional tense slow-paced

Too many characters to keep track of, I liked the biblical references throughout the story but constant references to sex began to read like an erotica I got tired of skipping audio 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Xenophobia and Racism

brinxleyx's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad 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

5.0

This is a new book in my favorites list. Pachinko addresses every issue under the sun within the cultural context it was written in. I have never been so affected by a character, and this story provides many many different stories throughout the four generations of the family it focuses on. This book was both beautiful and culturally informative. There was so much I learned, and I definitely cried.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexism, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, and Suicide

Minor: Abortion, Ableism, Addiction, Bullying, and Alcohol