Reviews tagging 'Trafficking'

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

46 reviews

snwalsh's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, War, Adult/minor relationship, Xenophobia, and Racism

Moderate: Death

Minor: Trafficking

elly29's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

There are like three basic plots in this book:

1. Sugar daddy pays for everything
2. The wrong people have principles
3. Sexytimes
4. Bonus fourth point: so many kids and raising kids, and having the kids take over the plot

It's a wandering, generational tale that was 3x too long. Starts in 1912 and ends in 1989. The word "pachinko" didn't even appear until halfway through the book. The most compelling part was the context of racism and racial tension between Koreans and Japanese, and often it was only pachinko that allowed Koreans to be wealthy in Japan. (Honestly, the plot was interesting until the focus shifted from Sunja to Noah. The second half of the book was just.... writing.)

Interesting to read "Pachinko" on the heels of "Crying in H Mart" and "Island of Sea Women," all of which are about Korea, Koreans, and expat Koreans.

Also, 18 hours of audiobook at 1.2 speed, for 14 hours of listening time. That's like the length of a flight to Korea from the US.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Xenophobia

Moderate: Classism, War, Xenophobia, Violence, Trafficking, Suicide, Addiction, Death, and Colonisation

Minor: Addiction and Abortion

readwithserena's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective 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

4.75

A moving story following generations of A Korean family during and after Japanese annexation of Korea. The exploration and varied perspectives on national identity is well done.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Classism, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Bullying, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Trafficking, Xenophobia, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Abortion, and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual violence, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Infertility, War, Infidelity, Hate crime, Death of parent, Death, and Child death

savvylit's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

Pachinko is a fascinating examination of the consequences of Japanese prejudice and xenophobia against Korean immigrants. For instance, prior to reading this, I had no idea that many Koreans born in Japan had to maintain Korean passports despite often never having seen their ancestors' homeland. Another enlightening aspect of this novel that I appreciated was the non-western perspective of World War II. There aren't enough popular English-language books that explore that perspective.

I feel like I must admit that I really struggled to get into this book and enjoy it at first. Everything seemed so abrupt and impersonal. Each early chapter felt almost like a list of facts. This happened, that happened, so and so was born, so and so died, the end. It honestly reminded me of the Old Testament in the Bible at times. Too much information with little chance to connect or digest. However, the longer that I stuck with Pachinko, the more I realized that the impersonal quality is effective; even realistic. Real-life family histories are told the way they are in this story. Here's who came first and a few of their qualities and here's what happened next. And the impersonal nature of the novel's beginning faded as Lee introduced more and more of the new generations.

Despite its length and the initial detached characterization, Pachinko is a very well-done historical narrative. I will be thinking about all the characters in this book for some time - especially Sunja.

Spoiler warning:

I really hated Hansu and was upset by how often he reappeared. He groomed Sunja! And then she spends her whole life blaming herself and being blamed by her family for what they view as her choices. I know victim-blaming is historically accurate. However, I have seen so many reviews that are sympathetic towards him and I just don't understand it! I know he helped the family at times but all of his motivations are purely selfish and sexist.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Xenophobia, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Infidelity, Colonisation, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infertility, Alcoholism, and Abortion

Minor: Trafficking

soffafa's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Trafficking, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, and Racism

Minor: Hate crime, Death of parent, Abortion, and Miscarriage

elizlizabeth's review against another edition

emotional sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.5

A deeply moving generational story about race, class, and sex. The characters are well fleshed out, and even with all the tragedies that befell the family nothing seems manufactured or unnecessary. As I write this review I'm already thinking of all the people I'm gonna recommend this to.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Xenophobia, Cancer, Car accident, Classism, Death, Suicide, Torture, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Racism

Moderate: Torture and Trafficking

jai_martin's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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: Adult/minor relationship, War, and Racism

Moderate: Violence, Trafficking, Abortion, Suicide, and Sexual violence

pamshenanigans's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

"A woman's lot is to suffer."

A family saga that plays out like a tv drama in your mind, Pachinko is a story of love, loss, sacrifice, and hope. While I think that Books 1 and 2 of the novel were the strongest, Book 3 wrapped everything up amazingly.

Reading it gives off this harrowing and palpable feeling of dread. That while the events that plague this South Korean immigrant family seem inevitable in a backdrop of war and Japanese colonization, you become hopeful when things start looking up only to get heartbroken multiple times in tragic ways.

A must-read historical fiction that is perfect for everyone but especially so for women. At the heart of the novel are mothers, wives, sisters, aunts, and daughters struggling to be themselves while conforming to gender roles and societal standards.

My reading vlog will ~hopefully~ be up this coming week! ✨

Trigger/Content Warnings: death, suicide, adult/minor relationship, grooming, miscarriage, sexual assault, physical assault, racism, bigotry, racial prejudice, colonization, alcoholism, abortion

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Sexual assault

Moderate: Miscarriage, Death, Child death, Suicide, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Abortion and Trafficking

serena_hien's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful informative

• 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Sexual content, Violence, Colonisation, Classism, Death, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Pregnancy, and War

Moderate: Misogyny, Cursing, and Infertility

Minor: Miscarriage, Cancer, Abortion, and Trafficking

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