Scan barcode
drkng31's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Classism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Drug use, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Death, War, Cancer, Terminal illness, Abortion, Addiction, Colonisation, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Bullying, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Xenophobia
sas_lk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The last third is unfortunately what lost me a little, and it is also why I am giving it 4 stars instead of something higher. At the end it started feeling a little disjointed, like the author lost track of the story a little bit. We were following the POVs of way more characters all of a sudden and quite a few felt pointless - atleast the depth that the author went into. And then it felt like the author added a couple traumatic things to keep the book sad and shocking without delving into these traumatic events. It felt like at the end she was speeding through her writing instead of taking her time with the events and happenings like she did in the first 2 thirds - this made me lose touch with the characters, and I almost felt like I stopped knowing them; like they were different characters than the ones I had been following throughout the whole book.
Overall, a great book, and I would definitely recommend it, I just wish the author had sat with the last third a little longer and not tried to do too much.
Graphic: Child death, Miscarriage, Suicide, Death, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, War, Sexism, Death of parent, Grief, Colonisation, Car accident, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Hate crime, Bullying, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
moonmoonsun'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? No
4.75
Moderate: Infertility, Police brutality, Racism, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Domestic abuse, Trafficking, War, Abortion, Addiction, Chronic illness, Cursing, Deportation, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Grief, and Infidelity
delaneybarry'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Police brutality, War, Suicide, Grief, Colonisation, Death, Classism, and Racism
Moderate: Death of parent and Child death
catsandcoffeeandbooks'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? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Grief
sunflowerwork's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, War, Alcohol, Suicide, Child death, Colonisation, Racism, Abortion, Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexism, Hate crime, Grief, Miscarriage, Car accident, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, Classism, Death, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Addiction
art_anthology's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Through this review you will see my very biased opinion of how the third book was definitely the weakest.... but the first parts make up for it.
Well the middle of the book (book2) was definitely the best in terms of events pacing and intrigue. It habdled topicsvthat were introduced in book1 while also becoming more complex. The introduction was also pretty solid and since a real bond was created between readers and characters. Sadly the 3rd book felt like it was doing a bit to many different things. And so the depth of themes an events that the first part had was lost felt more like seperated vignettes rather than a collated history.
Positive: the characters relationships felt meaningful.
When a new character was introduced to the central family there was an actual and tangible shift in the structure. This meant they all felt important and like they impacted each other.
Negative: I was not reqlly interested in the later inclusion of other characters such as
Positive: the characters felt real. I loved the beginning within the boardinghouse the fishermens banter actually became quite comfting l could image their background chatter.
Overall this is a great book to read like i did as a part of a book club. The character based narrayive allows you to dote on some and critique other characters. Or you could explore the nook through a historical lense
Graphic: Physical abuse, Pedophilia, War, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Moderate: Pregnancy, Trafficking, and Sexual violence
Minor: Suicide
mstall_'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
By page five I knew this was going to be my favorite five star read of the year. Pachinko is a sweeping story of a Korean family in Japan that spans four generations -- from 1900 to 1989. Sunja, the main character of the book is a young girl when she finds herself pregnant and unmarried. What follows is an incredible story of love, resilience, family, and heartbreak. I think this story was also really connective for me because of my time spent in Japan. It was easy for me to draw up my own memories there. I can still hear the pachiko parlors as I walked up the side street to the train station in Yokosuka.
Min Jin Lee did a phenomenal job writing a story that was painful and sad at times without making you feel complete obliteration (I'm looking at you A Little Life). While parts of the book are gut wrenching (August 1945) the theme of resiliency rings true. Despite colonization, political strife, racism,
This book made me cry, twice actually. Five stars.
Graphic: Grief and Xenophobia
Moderate: Homophobia, Pregnancy, Sexism, Death, Miscarriage, Racism, Suicide, and War
Minor: Ableism, Car accident, Infertility, and Cancer
miishmiish's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Grief, Pregnancy, Suicide, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Car accident, Violence, War, and Physical abuse
madelynh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Colonisation and Xenophobia
Moderate: Grief and War
Minor: Miscarriage, Drug abuse, Sexual harassment, and Suicide