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A review by madanxiety
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
adventurous
challenging
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.5
The most fascinating thing about this book is how much ground it covers in terms of time, starting in 1910 and ending in the 1980s (if I remember correctly). Through the story of this family, Lee explores the many hardships faced by Koreans during the 20th century.
However, because it covers so much, I was shocked at how subtly Lee reveals important updates about long-standing characters. At one point, a character dies, and that information is (as far as I could tell - I replayed it three times) only provided when a side character refers to his wife as a widow in passing. In this way, the omniscient narration is very interesting, but it also leads to some confusion. Being a lover of literature, though, I do like when a book kind of makes me work for it.
However, because it covers so much, I was shocked at how subtly Lee reveals important updates about long-standing characters. At one point, a character dies, and that information is (as far as I could tell - I replayed it three times) only provided when a side character refers to his wife as a widow in passing. In this way, the omniscient narration is very interesting, but it also leads to some confusion. Being a lover of literature, though, I do like when a book kind of makes me work for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Racism
Moderate: War, Infidelity, and Suicide
Minor: Rape and Infertility