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4.36 AVERAGE
4.36 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I didn’t know what to expect when I started this book (I didn’t even know what ‘Pachinko’ meant). This was such a beautifully told story about family and home, told over several generations. The characters are so fleshed out, which made it easy to sink right into their stories. There was so much going on in this book, (including lots of history I didn’t know about Koreans in Japan), but it never felt overwhelming or tedious. This is a worthwhile read for sure!
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
emotional
hopeful
informative
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Suicide
emotional
reflective
slow-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
Such an insightful book into a period of history i had little to no knowledge about, it felt as though it dragged a bit towards the end but I'm not much of a family saga person and couldn't figure out how it would end anyway.
Pachinko isn’t mentioned until page 254; it took awhile before I figured out what it was (a sort of Japanese combination pinball/slot machine). It’s a game of chance, the odds are always with the owners, but sometimes a gambler wins — Lee’s metaphor for life.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.5 -4 stars Set initially in Korea but mostly Japan. Family saga. Liked the story and main characters quite a lot of side characters which were quite thinly portrayed. Learnt s lot about the history and relations between the 2 countries that I wasn’t aware of and obviously about Pachinko. Would recommend to people who like a historical novel.