Pachinko by Min Jin Lee is a multi-generational family saga that follows a Korean family's struggles and hardships from the early 20th century in Korea to their migration to Japan and eventually the United States. The story delves into the historical context of the Japanese occupation of Korea, discrimination against Koreans in Japan, and the challenges faced by the family through wars, poverty, and cultural clashes. The narrative spans several generations, portraying the characters' resilience, sacrifices, and the impact of world events on their lives. The writing style is straightforward, with a focus on character development and exploring themes of identity, belonging, and survival.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
The book includes themes of racial discrimination, suicide, and struggles with identity which may be triggering for some readers.
Has Romance?
While romance exists, it is not the central theme; rather, it serves as a backdrop to the larger issues of identity and cultural belonging.
From The Publisher:
"There could only be a few winners, and a lot of losers. And yet we played on, because we had hope that we might be the lucky ones."
In the early 1900s, teenaged Sunja, the adored daughter of a crippled fisherman, falls for a wealthy stranger at the seashore near her home in Korea. He promises her the world, but when she discovers she is pregnant-and that her lover is married-she refuses to be bought. Instead, she accepts an offer of marriage from a gentle, sickly minister passing through on his way to Japan. But her decision to abandon her home, and to reject her son's powerful father, sets off a dramatic saga that will echo down through the generations.
Richly told and profoundly moving, Pachinko is a story of love, sacrifice, ambition, and loyalty. From bustling street markets to the halls of Japan's finest universities to the pachinko parlors of the criminal underworld, Lee's complex and passionate characters-strong, stubborn women, devoted sisters and sons, fathers shaken by moral crisis-survive and thrive against the indifferent arc of history.
A New York Times Top Ten Book of the Year and National Book Award finalist, Pachinko is an "extraordinary epic" of four generations of a poor Korean immigrant family as they fight to control their destiny in 20th-century Japan (San Francisco Chronicle).
NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2017 * A USA TODAY TOP TEN OF 2017 * JULY PICK FOR THE PBS NEWSHOUR-NEW YORK TIMES BOOK CLUB NOW READ THIS * FINALIST FOR THE 2018DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE* WINNER OF THE MEDICI BOOK CLUB PRIZE
Roxane Gay's Favorite Book of 2017, Washington Post
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * #1 BOSTON GLOBE BESTSELLER * USA TODAY BESTSELLER * WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER * WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER
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6 comment(s)
Sexual scenes
****4.0****
Before I started this book, I didn’t know what
“Pachinko” is and even though I had watched several Japanese and Korean movies I was totally unaware of the crisis that happened between them.
This is a story that spans a Korean family from 1910 to 1989, the struggles to survive and settle. To forget what was theirs, where they belonged and the failure to fit in what they have is very heartbreaking.
“a man must learn to forgive—to know what is important, that to live without forgiveness was a kind of death with breathing and movement.”
Main Protagonist being Sunja who was the daughter of a boarding house in a small fishing village near Busan. After her father’s death, Sunja’s mother a hardworking girl, looks after her and the boarding house. Sunja turns into a efficient, silent, well-behaved, hard-working girl. But her unplanned teen pregnancy and marriage to Presbyterian minister Baek Isak takes her to Osaka, where she raises sons Noa and Mozasu. After her husband’s death, with the help from her brother-in-law and his wife, she manages to work hard as she can for Noa’s education. Mozasu on the other hand is content with a job in Pachinko.
“Sunja-ya, a woman’s life is endless work and suffering. There is suffering and then more suffering….no matter what, always expect suffering, and just keep working hard.”
The story focuses more on Noa and Mozasu from here and it’s their life that is highlighted. Their life is not much different from their parents, but they were born in Osaka,Japan and whatever the people might have said, it was their home. Noa sacrifices his Korean identity to become Japanese, but fails. Mozasu finds a life in being Pachinko owner and moving in life forward as a wealthy businessman.
“You are very brave, Noa. Much, much braver than me. Living every day in the presence of those who refuse to acknowledge your humanity takes great courage.”
It’s difficult to tell a story which is connected to a family’s generations along with a nation’s political-cultural changes. Min Jin Lee has done a great job with a brilliant narration. A tough plot with tough, diverse characters and a great literary treat.
ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!
Happy Reading!!!
El libro empieza bastante bien, pero segun va avanzando me da la sensacion de que la autora misma queria acabar ya con todo esto y va metiendo mas y mas personajes y dando saltos en el tiempo mas y mas grandes pero es como que solo ha colocado el esqueleto y le falta toda la chicha del principio.
Alguien ya lo ha dicho, este libro empieza con 5 estrellas y acaba con 2.
Love stories that follow the characters over time and generations.
A very good and original historical novel set in Korea and Japan.
This is one of the best books I've ever had the pleasure of reading.
What can you read after
Pachinko?
About the Author:
Min Jin Lee is a recipient of fiction fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study at Harvard. Her second novel Pachinko (2017) was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction, runner-up for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, winner of the Medici Book Club Prize, and a New York Times 10 Best Books of 2017. A New York Times Bestseller, Pachinko was also a Top 10 Books of the Year for BBC, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and the New York Public Library. Pachinko was a selection for “Now Read This,” the joint book club of PBS NewsHour and The New York Times. It was on over 75 best books of the year lists, including NPR, PBS, and CNN. Pachinko will be translated into 25 languages. Lee’s debut novel Free Food for Millionaires (2007) was a Top 10 Books of the Year for The Times of London, NPR’s Fresh Air, USA Today, and a national bestseller. Her writings have appeared in The New Yorker, NPR’s Selected Shorts, One Story, The New York Review of Books, The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, The Times Literary Supplement, The Guardian, Conde Nast Traveler, The Times of London, and Wall Street Journal. She served three consecutive seasons as a Morning Forum columnist of the Chosun Ilbo of South Korea. In 2018, Lee was named as an Adweek Creative 100 for being one of the “10 Writers and Editors Who are Changing the National Conversation” and a Frederick Douglass 200. She received an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Monmouth College. She will be a Writer-in-Residence at Amherst College from 2019-2022.
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