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premature_insecurity 's review for:
Pachinko
by Min Jin Lee
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
I enjoyed this a lot. I do think, towards the end, the book pays too much attention to characters who don’t really bring much to the story, or at the very least characters we as readers have little to no relationship with. There were also some parts which I genuinely didn’t see the point of, some of which weren’t followed up at any point.
That said, as a book showing the struggles of Koreans living in a country that sees them as less-than-human, I thought it portrayed it rather well and in a nuanced way. The story is unfair and the characters struggle and suffer, but there is joy to be found between the pages of a difficult life.
Having watched a little more than half of the TV-series, I highly recommend watching that after reading the book! It takes a lot of different routes than the book, but contrasts and complements the book really well. The series has made me appreciate the book more
That said, as a book showing the struggles of Koreans living in a country that sees them as less-than-human, I thought it portrayed it rather well and in a nuanced way. The story is unfair and the characters struggle and suffer, but there is joy to be found between the pages of a difficult life.
Having watched a little more than half of the TV-series, I highly recommend watching that after reading the book! It takes a lot of different routes than the book, but contrasts and complements the book really well. The series has made me appreciate the book more
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Suicide, War