Reviews with content warning for Child death - Pachinko

The book is divided into three parts: the first one I liked well enough, the second one was so-so, the third one, well, I just kept thinking "What is going on here? What the heck am I reading about?".

There were just too many characters, especially given that the book already covers a very long period of time and many generations of a family. I really think that some characters were just unnecessary additions and we could have done without their perspectives, so that more space could be given to the main ones. All the jumping between so many different points of view just made it hard to become invested.

Moreover, very big and even traumatic events are just briefly explored or worse just mentioned in passing. This character died, this one entered a relationship , and so-and-so did that, well good for them, am I supposed to care? There is no groundwork, how can a reader get attached to these people and their stories when you as an author have given them so little? Well there was time to go on and on about George Elliot's novels but no time to delve into a main character' emotions, I guess.
I was just not a fan of how the author portrayed the characters, if there isn't a good handling of their depictions then the story just turns into an over-the-top soap opera.

I found interesting the setting and the overall theme (exploring the lives of Korean people and their descendants living in Japan) but I was not that impressed with the execution itself.

For its length, the book is quite easy to get through, the chapters are not too long, the pace is quite fast and the narrative style is readable enough. Still, the writing style is nothing much to talk about, overall it's a bit too much dry and matter-of-fact for my taste.

All in all, the premise sounded good but the book was a disappointment for me and the three-star rating is basically only for the first section, the rest I'm wilfully choosing to ignore.

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oatmilkie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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rain_bellin's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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mondovertigo's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective relaxing 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? It's complicated

5.0

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christynhoover's review against another edition

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informative reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

This is the saga in 1932-1989 of an extended Korean family in Korea and, fairly shortly, in Japan. The story follows Korean family members who have emigrated to Japan and the remainder of the saga unfolds there. It details the ENDLESS hardships of generations of the Korean family in Japan.

I was unaware of the rampant Japanese prejudice against Koreans.

It's mainly heartbreaking although two matronly figures persevere despite all.

At the book's close I'm left wondering if there has been any CHANGE in the treatment of Koreans by Japanese society and whether the path to citizenship has "opened up" at all since 1989 (when the book ends).

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