Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

53 reviews

ntvenessa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

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

4.25

A gem. This is a tale about poverty, suffering, colonialism, identity, salvation, endurance, family. Min Jin Lee's background as a historian shines through and Pachinko is exemplary of great historical fiction. It is factually consistent and you will learn much of Japan's colonisation of Korea, a topic not so in regular discourse. It is also emotional, generous, and sensitive to these historical facts. The characters are distinct and each have personalities which make sense for their context. It is intergenerational. The story is just so well crafted. This makes sense given how much time and dedication Lee spent workshopping drafts. I am normally averse to thick novels, but Pachinko has me unafraid -- it is exactly as long as the story needs to be, and moreover, it is easy to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Chronic illness, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Ableism, Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Suicide, and Car accident

Minor: Child death and Homophobia

thebookishbedouin's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Colonisation, Violence, Xenophobia, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Sexism, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Classism, Chronic illness, and Bullying

Moderate: War, Suicide, Physical abuse, and Cancer

Minor: Abortion, Torture, Miscarriage, Infidelity, and Alcoholism

mxpringle's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Grief, Ableism, Alcoholism, Cancer, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Violence

Minor: War

jopriestley's review

challenging emotional inspiring 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

5.0

This book! I adored it. It was so interesting, as I know very little about this section of history and I felt like I was learning a lot whilst following this family. The characters felt so real, and the book did an amazing job in showing how their lives changed over the 60 year period from the 1930s to 1980s.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Fatphobia, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Suicide, and War

amberswips's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Overall I enjoyed this book. It definitely held my interest, however I wish this had been a duology instead with one book focusing on Sunja and Isak and the other focusing on their kids. I feel that the book jumps through the years so fast we never get to see the plots flesh out. But I did enjoy the characters a lot. They were interesting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Death of parent, Hate crime, Suicide, Suicide attempt, War, and Sexism

Moderate: Addiction, Abortion, Body shaming, Sexual content, Cancer, and Car accident

Minor: Cursing

amavi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

I am confused about my feelings towards this book. It took me a long time to finish it, I would pick it up read a lot then drop it for weeks. I have forced myself to finish it. I enjoyed the first part far more than the last part. I think that the detached tone is fitting so it didn't bother me. I like how much I learned about Korea and Japan, primarily the treatment of Koreans but also a part of the society of those times. I think that towards the end in the second and third part we get way to disconnected from the characters. Some characters are very complex which I enjoyed. The timeline jumps a lot and I found myself returning to the previous chapter to see in which year we're in. Irrelevant(in my opinion) things get the spotlight, I don't think that side characters deserved to have whole chapters when they had little relevance to the story, and they were mentioned maybe twice after. The last generation that was mentioned(was truly just mentioned) the author flew through intense scenarios with them and sortoof left it at that. I think it was very interesting to see family themes play out, I was left thinking can you escape your destiny and how connected is your fate to your family/bloodline. I think that it is a depressing read, it left me feeling sad, almost hurt

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, and War

Minor: Terminal illness

marjoleinvanderspoel's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

Pachinko is a gripping family epic that deals with so much so delicately, yet without hesitating to display the cruelty of war and the historic injustices Japan has dealt Korea. This book snuck up on me, carefully guiding my investment in the story and the characters so that I didn't fully realise it until it was too late and something horrible had happened - and yes, I cried. I only wish that the book would have had a stronger ending, but I suppose it does maintain the same quiet and unassuming tone, which is also a strong choice by the author considering the topics that are brought up towards the end of the book. Regardless, Pachinko is definitely a must-read for everyone, in my opinion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Suicide, Xenophobia, and War

Moderate: Trafficking, Slavery, Homophobia, Death of parent, Ableism, Police brutality, and Sexual content

Minor: Alcoholism and Miscarriage

scarafaggy's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

History has failed us, but no matter.

This book will stick with me for a while. It is a powerful story of a family trying their hardest to overcome everything that is thrown their way. Beware, because once you start, you will find it near impossible to put down! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death of parent, Death, Hate crime, Racism, Religious bigotry, Adult/minor relationship, Xenophobia, Violence, and Suicide

Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Misogyny

lschmidt's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This is a historical family saga set in Korea and Japan throughout the 20th century. It follows four generations of a Korean family through the political turmoil of Japanese colonization, the hardship of wartimes, seeking a new and better life in Japan, and witnessing the home they left become divided into two countries they hardly recognize.

As someone who knows very little about Korean history, this book ... teaches us a chapter of modern history we might not have been aware of.

Many Koreans found themselves forced to move to Japan to find jobs for their families, but they faced discrimination and disgusting living conditions when they arrived. Pachinko, we soon find out, is a kind of Japanese arcade game, and working in a pachinko parlor was considered a typical job for a Korean looking to get ahead. Many Japanese looked down upon pachinko parlor workers, viewing them as shady and dishonest, and owners of pachinko parlors were often referred to as "gangsters".

It was both interesting and deeply saddening to hear about what these people went through, how easy it was for Koreans to be imprisoned indefinitely without trial. And after years of hardship and discrimination, after pushing through and finally earning enough money to have stability, many could never go back. Korean-Japanese (third, fourth, fifth generation even) were refused citizenship in Japan but most came from North Korea, a place they could no longer safely return to.

The fictional characters the author creates come sparking off the page - from the resilient Sunja who once foolishly believed in the love of an older man, to Noa who will never quite recover from the dishonor of his lineage, to Solomon who is still trying to escape the negative stereotypes associated with Koreans many years after his grandmother arrived in Japan. It is a heartbreaking story and, sadly, much of this book was the reality for many Koreans.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Car accident, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and War

skyslibrary's review against another edition

dark informative tense slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Minor: Abortion