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A review by wretchedtheo
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I enjoyed reading Pachinko because it taught me about a group I didn't know much about, and its history about which I knew even less. The only thing I'd ever read before about Koreans in Japan was a short story by a Japanese author, so it was interesting to read a whole book focusing on these people and their struggles. Said book was also highly readable - I blew through all 530 pages in 2 days.
However, stylistically I found it lacking. It's written so simply, and not in a good way, I'd say. It didn't seem to have anything very insightful or interesting to say. The messages, like the style, are far too simplistic to be satisfying on a literary level. I can't think of any memorable passages - and I was really looking hard for at least one. I was determined to admire this book. I wanted to be impressed.
Another major issue I have with Pachinko - reviews have praised it for its vividness, but the descriptions, I found, fell short of this glowing praise. I very rarely could actually picture the settings. I didn't feel transported while reading because i didn't feel like the author had actually seen or experienced very many of the events or places described in the book. For anyone looking to write historical fiction, creating a convincing setting and atmosphere is tantamount to success. And in Pachinko... well. Suffice it to say that the word "okay" is used in a chapter where the action takes place in 1940s Japan. (The focalization is on Sunja, an uneducated woman who does not speak English. I don't think I need to tell you how out of place that is.)
Which brings me to another complaint of mine. Sadly, I could very much tell that Pachinko was not only not written by a historian; it was also not written by a Korean Korean, or a Japanese Korean, but an American Korean. It was painfully obvious. Americans writing about other countries have such a jarring, obnoxious way of injecting American characters, values and mindsets where they shouldn't be. Whenever I read historical fiction I try to avoid American authors for this exact reason, but when I fail to do so - usually because the author belongs to an ethnic minority and has a name that reflects their background - I always notice this trend.
Basically, Pachinko wasn't a bad book, but it didn't meet the high expectations I had for it. It wasn't clever enough or artistic enough or moving enough. It was kind of just... a story. It's the kind of book that is admired by people who don't read a lot of books.
However, stylistically I found it lacking. It's written so simply, and not in a good way, I'd say. It didn't seem to have anything very insightful or interesting to say. The messages, like the style, are far too simplistic to be satisfying on a literary level. I can't think of any memorable passages - and I was really looking hard for at least one. I was determined to admire this book. I wanted to be impressed.
Another major issue I have with Pachinko - reviews have praised it for its vividness, but the descriptions, I found, fell short of this glowing praise. I very rarely could actually picture the settings. I didn't feel transported while reading because i didn't feel like the author had actually seen or experienced very many of the events or places described in the book. For anyone looking to write historical fiction, creating a convincing setting and atmosphere is tantamount to success. And in Pachinko... well. Suffice it to say that the word "okay" is used in a chapter where the action takes place in 1940s Japan. (The focalization is on Sunja, an uneducated woman who does not speak English. I don't think I need to tell you how out of place that is.)
Which brings me to another complaint of mine. Sadly, I could very much tell that Pachinko was not only not written by a historian; it was also not written by a Korean Korean, or a Japanese Korean, but an American Korean. It was painfully obvious. Americans writing about other countries have such a jarring, obnoxious way of injecting American characters, values and mindsets where they shouldn't be. Whenever I read historical fiction I try to avoid American authors for this exact reason, but when I fail to do so - usually because the author belongs to an ethnic minority and has a name that reflects their background - I always notice this trend.
Basically, Pachinko wasn't a bad book, but it didn't meet the high expectations I had for it. It wasn't clever enough or artistic enough or moving enough. It was kind of just... a story. It's the kind of book that is admired by people who don't read a lot of books.