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A review by sophsays
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
5.0
This was such a culturally and historically enlightening read! As a multi-generational novel, the book follows a wide cast of characters over the years, providing us with many different perspectives. Lee does her characters credit through strong characterization, exploring their drive and motivations, however simple or complex. This was true even for characters such as , whom I strongly disliked.
As others have mentioned, we skip quite a few years at a time towards the end of the book. This, coupled with the fact that we initially only follow a very small, close-knit group of characters then branch out to follow many different ones, will undoubtedly make the latter half of the book feel rushed to some. However, I thought it fitting; during the war, the characters' lives slowed to a crawl as they struggled for food and money, but afterwards their lives expanded and life resumed its normal, frantic pace (this is the best I can do without spoiling anything).
I cannot recommend this enough for fans of historical fiction. Especially if, like me, you were not taught anything at all about the World Wars' impact on countries outside of Europe and the United States.
Spoiler
HanaAs others have mentioned, we skip quite a few years at a time towards the end of the book. This, coupled with the fact that we initially only follow a very small, close-knit group of characters then branch out to follow many different ones, will undoubtedly make the latter half of the book feel rushed to some. However, I thought it fitting; during the war, the characters' lives slowed to a crawl as they struggled for food and money, but afterwards their lives expanded and life resumed its normal, frantic pace (this is the best I can do without spoiling anything).
I cannot recommend this enough for fans of historical fiction. Especially if, like me, you were not taught anything at all about the World Wars' impact on countries outside of Europe and the United States.