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4.36 AVERAGE
4.36 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
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:
Complicated
emotional
informative
inspiring
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I’m surprised to rate this book as low as I am. The reviews have been pretty great across my socials and I’ve seen many many people include this book on their “favorite reads” lists. But… while I did enjoy it, it fell a bit flat for me. I was very invested in one of the main characters that got pregnant from an affair and moves to Japan. HER story was interesting, but I got lost after she stopped being the main focus. At the end of the book I asked myself: okay, so what?
The writing moves fast and I loved seeing the cultural aspects and the lens through which we see world events unfolding, but ultimately it was too long and too insignificant with little to no meaning I got out of it… buttttt that might just be me?!
The writing moves fast and I loved seeing the cultural aspects and the lens through which we see world events unfolding, but ultimately it was too long and too insignificant with little to no meaning I got out of it… buttttt that might just be me?!
“It was possible that he was in love with the way she wrote the number two — her parallel lines expressing a kind of free movement inside the invisible box that contained the ideograph’s strokes.”
Where to even begin? Pachinko is about so many things. All of them beautiful. All of them painful.
Is about suffering, sacrifice, burden, love, and mostly is about family. What we carry, what we inherit, and what it cannot be escaped.
The book is so carefully built word by word, sentence by sentence.
The stoic writing, the factual sentences, the cold verb gives us all the space we need to build the story. To suffer it without manipulation. We decide what hurts. What matters.
Is amazing how the author, slowly but surely, and with intimate and delicate strokes, paints an incredibly detailed picture of every character, every city, every conflict, every year.
She guides you through the story, and through history, like a mother, like a teacher, like a grandmother, and like a father. She never lets go. She never lets you get lost. But she never judges you. She lets you be.
Step by step, we unlock this story of love and sacrifice. There’s no rush. You’ll get there.
Is truly a work of art.
A masterclass of narrative.
You feel hugged and tucked in by the story, as painful as it is. Sunja never abandones you, even as her world is completely destroyed. She is the greatest mother of them all.
Thank you, Min Jin Lee.
Where to even begin? Pachinko is about so many things. All of them beautiful. All of them painful.
Is about suffering, sacrifice, burden, love, and mostly is about family. What we carry, what we inherit, and what it cannot be escaped.
The book is so carefully built word by word, sentence by sentence.
The stoic writing, the factual sentences, the cold verb gives us all the space we need to build the story. To suffer it without manipulation. We decide what hurts. What matters.
Is amazing how the author, slowly but surely, and with intimate and delicate strokes, paints an incredibly detailed picture of every character, every city, every conflict, every year.
She guides you through the story, and through history, like a mother, like a teacher, like a grandmother, and like a father. She never lets go. She never lets you get lost. But she never judges you. She lets you be.
Step by step, we unlock this story of love and sacrifice. There’s no rush. You’ll get there.
Is truly a work of art.
A masterclass of narrative.
You feel hugged and tucked in by the story, as painful as it is. Sunja never abandones you, even as her world is completely destroyed. She is the greatest mother of them all.
Thank you, Min Jin Lee.
Pachinko is a story of love, sacrifice and pain. The book follows four generations of Koreans in Japan, from the early to late 20th Century. The book expertly portrays the historical context, in my opinion, highlighting Japan's occupation of Korea before WW2 and the eventual division of the country into North and South Korea. The book details the discrimination and racism towards Koreans in general, but especially those living in Japan. By spanning numerous generations: not just the immediate family, but friends and partners too, Pachinko shows so many sides to the plight of Koreans at that time. Always being looked down upon, being underestimated and no matter what one did, being unable to fit in. The novel is shocking in parts, due to its portrayal of these harsh realities, and has many plot twists. I honestly couldn't put it down, the only drawback I felt, was that by following so many different characters, I didn't necessarily connect with all of them as much as I would have liked in order to feel the full impact of their story. But overall, a very captivating, informative and moving book.
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Full of life
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
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:
No
emotional
inspiring
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:
Complicated
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Started off as a pretty decent hardship story, but there are way too many terrible things that happen to these people for it to be an enjoyable read to me.
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
it made me question my life and my relationship with my family. 10/10