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4.36 AVERAGE
4.36 AVERAGE
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
informative
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
has its lulls, but so, too, does life. gorgeous and highly ambitious book that sinks its teeth into intergenerational mobility and trauma.
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicide, Xenophobia, Colonisation, War, Classism
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Pachinko is hard to read in a good way. The struggles of a migrant family, the discrimination they face, alongside the shame that comes with, spread across generations, all come back here. They are still today's struggles of a migrant family. At least, it felt like a mirror to my own experiences as a second gen. This put into contrast against the backdrop of the history of Korea and the split between North and South and its difficult relationship and suppression with and by Japan the book just cuts into so many topics that are not discussed, not talked about or ignored within migrant families because survival comes first and identity second, because swallowing pride is easier, or because of something as simple as a language barrier already existing between the first children born in the new country and the parents who arrive with a heart full of hope at the cost of realising that, the country they left and the new country will ever be 'home' to them again or ever.
been a while since i read a historical fiction book and this story was a great way to ease back into the genre. the writing was an amazing telling of seemingly ordinary people and families, but it was overall beautiful and heartbreaking. made me reflect a lot on the stories of so many people who have lived through situations not so different than these. feeling emotional but also encouraged by the strength of those who have endured loss, change, and yearn to feel belonging in foreign places.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-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