Scan barcode
jazzsonnet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Bullying, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, and Colonisation
Moderate: Infertility, War, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Racism, Misogyny, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Suicide, Sexual assault, Sexism, Child death, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Abortion
claudiatralenuvole's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Ho apprezzato la maggior parte dei personaggi, soprattutto le donne: Sunja e sua cognata hanno uno splendido rapporto e mi è piaciuto vederle così unite e propositive anche nei momenti più bui.
Amatissimo il personaggio di Isak, meno suo fratello e Hansu, ma interessante la caratterizzazione di entrambi: uomini coreani desiderosi di affermarsi tra i giapponesi. Uno ci riesce, l'altro viene schiacciato. Un parallelismo che segue anche i figli Noa e Mozaru.
La scrittura ha un ritmo molto veloce e parecchi salti temporali anche bruschi (e dunque non sempre apprezzati), ma credo rendano bene il pensiero dei protagonisti nei confronti delle disgrazie vissute: "Non c'è tempo per piangere, dobbiamo continuare a vivere". Ciononostante, in alcuni momenti mi sono sinceramente commossa e ho pianto.
Ho apprezzato tantissimo anche la messa in scena delle due facce della stessa medaglia: il razzismo violento e denigratorio verso lo straniero, e il "razzismo al contrario", la feticizzazione di una etnia come oggetto esotico da collezione.
Unica vera pecca del romanzo secondo me è che talvolta l'autrice si sofferma a raccontare storie di personaggi che poi non vengono portate a termine o riprese. Anche Sunja e Hansu a un certo punto scompaiono dalle scene e se ne sente la mancanza visto che, seppure in senso lato, sono loro i protagonisti principali, da cui la vicenda realmente parte.
Capisco che col progredire della storia va dato spazio alle nuove generazioni, ma si poteva eseguire meglio questo passaggio di testimone.
In generale, un buon romanzo, che forse ha voluto raccontare troppe cose in pochissimo tempo. Mi chiedo come sarebbe stato se l'autrice l'avesse diviso in più volumi. Un ritmo più disteso, e storie più approfondite forse avrebbero giovato alla narrazione, che comunque per me resta buona.
Minor: War, Suicide, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Racism
sunflowerwork's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, War, Alcohol, Suicide, Child death, Colonisation, Racism, Abortion, Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexism, Hate crime, Grief, Miscarriage, Car accident, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, Classism, Death, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Addiction
nostalgicbaby's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Suicide, Death of parent, and Physical abuse
Minor: Addiction and Miscarriage
art_anthology's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Through this review you will see my very biased opinion of how the third book was definitely the weakest.... but the first parts make up for it.
Well the middle of the book (book2) was definitely the best in terms of events pacing and intrigue. It habdled topicsvthat were introduced in book1 while also becoming more complex. The introduction was also pretty solid and since a real bond was created between readers and characters. Sadly the 3rd book felt like it was doing a bit to many different things. And so the depth of themes an events that the first part had was lost felt more like seperated vignettes rather than a collated history.
Positive: the characters relationships felt meaningful.
When a new character was introduced to the central family there was an actual and tangible shift in the structure. This meant they all felt important and like they impacted each other.
Negative: I was not reqlly interested in the later inclusion of other characters such as
Positive: the characters felt real. I loved the beginning within the boardinghouse the fishermens banter actually became quite comfting l could image their background chatter.
Overall this is a great book to read like i did as a part of a book club. The character based narrayive allows you to dote on some and critique other characters. Or you could explore the nook through a historical lense
Graphic: Physical abuse, Pedophilia, War, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Moderate: Pregnancy, Trafficking, and Sexual violence
Minor: Suicide
mstall_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
By page five I knew this was going to be my favorite five star read of the year. Pachinko is a sweeping story of a Korean family in Japan that spans four generations -- from 1900 to 1989. Sunja, the main character of the book is a young girl when she finds herself pregnant and unmarried. What follows is an incredible story of love, resilience, family, and heartbreak. I think this story was also really connective for me because of my time spent in Japan. It was easy for me to draw up my own memories there. I can still hear the pachiko parlors as I walked up the side street to the train station in Yokosuka.
Min Jin Lee did a phenomenal job writing a story that was painful and sad at times without making you feel complete obliteration (I'm looking at you A Little Life). While parts of the book are gut wrenching (August 1945) the theme of resiliency rings true. Despite colonization, political strife, racism,
This book made me cry, twice actually. Five stars.
Graphic: Grief and Xenophobia
Moderate: Homophobia, Pregnancy, Sexism, Death, Miscarriage, Racism, Suicide, and War
Minor: Ableism, Car accident, Infertility, and Cancer
meilanon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
Graphic: Cancer, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, and Police brutality
miishmiish's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Grief, Pregnancy, Suicide, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Car accident, Violence, War, and Physical abuse
applesodaperson's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
My favorite thing about this book was how every character felt so distinct and individual. This is impressive because there are so many characters. But they all have their own struggles and personalities. And I pretty much never had a hard time remembering who was who. In fact, this book was so fun to read because the writing style was so well done that the words just went straight into my head and I could see the events happening like a movie. And this aided in me becoming so incredibly attached to the characters. Like I was so invested and was so heartbroken when bad things happened to them. Of course Sunja was my favorite and she was really the biggest main character. I loved her so much and loved how hard working she was. I also think that her complicated relationship with Hansu was very complex and compelling. Her sense of pride and her need for help and money were always in conflict.
This book was almost perfect, but there was something that I didn't like.
But overall this book was amazing and I loved getting to learn more about Asian history and culture. I also feel like I could read this book every year for the rest of my life, and different things and characters and stories and themes would stand out to me every time I read it.
Read from the Provo library.
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Child death, Death, Suicide, and War
hyperashley's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Terminal illness, Miscarriage, War, Suicide, Child death, Racism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, and Sexual assault