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A review by v_larr
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
3.0
This is another one of those cases where I feel kind of bad that my rating is purely based on enjoyment. Because I think this book was excellently written. But man, did it piss me the hell off.
I was bored for half of it and pissed for the rest. I know it’s more of a reflection of what life was like in that setting, so it would be unrealistic, but I wish Sunja just went apeshit. Like I feel like she deserved to go apeshit. This is the kind of book that makes me want to go reread Iron Widow to see crappy men get their comeuppance.
I mean, yes, Sunja was an incredibly strong woman and I respect the hell out of her for that. But man. So many sucky things happen that, in a more fictional setting, would end with revenge or something. But that’s not how real life works. Sometimes you just have to face the crap and let it happen to you. And it’s the best outcome. And she did stand up for herself in her own way. And it worked out well for her family.
I found the structure of this book to be interesting. There’s no real overarching plot but rather a theme. And the structure is almost like a trickle down. There’s no ups or downs, it’s just snapshots of different moments in people’s lives going down the generations. I personally consider Sunja to be the main character, although there are so many of them.
This book was effective at having such a large cast without having me get confused about who’s who. The issue was the number of annoying characters vastly exceeded the number of fun characters.
Sunja and Kyunghee, my beloveds. Hansu, I wish you died. I haven’t despised a character since I watched FMAB in 2018. Chucking Hansu into the torture basement with Kimblee right now. I despise that man. I read he had prostate cancer and prayed he would finally fuck off and die. BUT NOOOOOOOOOOO. HE NEVER DIES. IT’S LIKE HE IS TECHNICALLY A MAIN CHARACTER TOO.
Nope. I’m ranting. I hate Hansu so much because not only is he an entitled groomy rapey piece of shit, but he also has an absurd amount of power not only in the context of the book but also as a plot device. If he died, there would be no book. But honestly? I would gladly take that. Fuck Hansu I wish his balls got melted off at the beginning of the book.
Serious respect to Sunja for putting up with that jackass as long as she did. I love her so much she did NOTHING wrong. I’m pissed at Noa for what he did. Like he’s also a piece of shit. I’m sorry, I just can’t really understand why he killed himself. I think they could’ve done more to convince me about his personal beliefs and stuff. Because he wasn’t written to be mentally ill unless I missed a huge hint. So I think he did that because being associated with Sunja and Hansu was just that much of a disgrace. And to that I say he’s an ungrateful sack of garbage!
Mozasu I can respect. He is what people think the American dream is. He said fuck school this isn’t my path and then he not only found his calling but also stayed true to himself despite people being jerks. I loved his..what’s the word. Like he didn’t care that he was associated with criminals because, well he’s not one. So even though everyone can say “oh he works in Pachinko he’s probably shady,” he knows he’s clean so it doesn’t matter. Wait, is that a metaphor? (said sarcastically).
I did find the subjects of war and racism to be insightful. I read so much about these topics from a Western perspective so I was glad to branch out a bit. And how much things can change in the time this was set in.
I wish Isak got more “screen”time. I loved him. He was so nice. And I love how even in death he had such a huge impact on everything too.
Hmm, what else am I forgetting.
Oh yeah, I didn’t like how sex was addressed in this, although it was interesting. I mean, again, I do get it being historically realistic or whatever. But when we got women and their experiences with sex, it’s like they never really enjoyed it. For Sunja, it was described as something that was done to her. And for the girls later on (Hana? I think was one of them?), the relationship with sex wasn’t exactly healthy. The only one that was interestingly written was the one wife lady. But she couldn’t pursue her desires because of shame. And also cheating. But the emphasis was on the shame.
I think that’s an issue I have with books that contain sex in general though, if it’s not “fade to black” then it’s either written detachedly (I think that’s the word) or it’s written pornographically. Like where is the range????? This book had a decent range.
The ending caught me off guard. I thought it would end with Sunja dying. But I interpret it as her finally letting go of her sons. The entire book was her experiencing motherhood and being a damn good one at that, and it’s like she has to let them live their own lives now. Maybe?
I cannot emphasize this enough. I think this book was brilliant. But I didn’t like reading it.
I was bored for half of it and pissed for the rest. I know it’s more of a reflection of what life was like in that setting, so it would be unrealistic, but I wish Sunja just went apeshit. Like I feel like she deserved to go apeshit. This is the kind of book that makes me want to go reread Iron Widow to see crappy men get their comeuppance.
I mean, yes, Sunja was an incredibly strong woman and I respect the hell out of her for that. But man. So many sucky things happen that, in a more fictional setting, would end with revenge or something. But that’s not how real life works. Sometimes you just have to face the crap and let it happen to you. And it’s the best outcome. And she did stand up for herself in her own way. And it worked out well for her family.
I found the structure of this book to be interesting. There’s no real overarching plot but rather a theme. And the structure is almost like a trickle down. There’s no ups or downs, it’s just snapshots of different moments in people’s lives going down the generations. I personally consider Sunja to be the main character, although there are so many of them.
This book was effective at having such a large cast without having me get confused about who’s who. The issue was the number of annoying characters vastly exceeded the number of fun characters.
Sunja and Kyunghee, my beloveds. Hansu, I wish you died. I haven’t despised a character since I watched FMAB in 2018. Chucking Hansu into the torture basement with Kimblee right now. I despise that man. I read he had prostate cancer and prayed he would finally fuck off and die. BUT NOOOOOOOOOOO. HE NEVER DIES. IT’S LIKE HE IS TECHNICALLY A MAIN CHARACTER TOO.
Nope. I’m ranting. I hate Hansu so much because not only is he an entitled groomy rapey piece of shit, but he also has an absurd amount of power not only in the context of the book but also as a plot device. If he died, there would be no book. But honestly? I would gladly take that. Fuck Hansu I wish his balls got melted off at the beginning of the book.
Serious respect to Sunja for putting up with that jackass as long as she did. I love her so much she did NOTHING wrong. I’m pissed at Noa for what he did. Like he’s also a piece of shit. I’m sorry, I just can’t really understand why he killed himself. I think they could’ve done more to convince me about his personal beliefs and stuff. Because he wasn’t written to be mentally ill unless I missed a huge hint. So I think he did that because being associated with Sunja and Hansu was just that much of a disgrace. And to that I say he’s an ungrateful sack of garbage!
Mozasu I can respect. He is what people think the American dream is. He said fuck school this isn’t my path and then he not only found his calling but also stayed true to himself despite people being jerks. I loved his..what’s the word. Like he didn’t care that he was associated with criminals because, well he’s not one. So even though everyone can say “oh he works in Pachinko he’s probably shady,” he knows he’s clean so it doesn’t matter. Wait, is that a metaphor? (said sarcastically).
I did find the subjects of war and racism to be insightful. I read so much about these topics from a Western perspective so I was glad to branch out a bit. And how much things can change in the time this was set in.
I wish Isak got more “screen”time. I loved him. He was so nice. And I love how even in death he had such a huge impact on everything too.
Hmm, what else am I forgetting.
Oh yeah, I didn’t like how sex was addressed in this, although it was interesting. I mean, again, I do get it being historically realistic or whatever. But when we got women and their experiences with sex, it’s like they never really enjoyed it. For Sunja, it was described as something that was done to her. And for the girls later on (Hana? I think was one of them?), the relationship with sex wasn’t exactly healthy. The only one that was interestingly written was the one wife lady. But she couldn’t pursue her desires because of shame. And also cheating. But the emphasis was on the shame.
I think that’s an issue I have with books that contain sex in general though, if it’s not “fade to black” then it’s either written detachedly (I think that’s the word) or it’s written pornographically. Like where is the range????? This book had a decent range.
The ending caught me off guard. I thought it would end with Sunja dying. But I interpret it as her finally letting go of her sons. The entire book was her experiencing motherhood and being a damn good one at that, and it’s like she has to let them live their own lives now. Maybe?
I cannot emphasize this enough. I think this book was brilliant. But I didn’t like reading it.