Reviews

Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee

killjoycatlady's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

kaitisbooknook's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

stephenhunsaker's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

itssamu's review against another edition

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5.0

Manages to capture four generations of the Korean-Japanese experience through meticulous research and dozens of fully realised characters. The omniscient voice elevates the scale of their stories while never diverting the finer details of their journey. Informative and heartfelt and deserving of all its praises.

beedew's review against another edition

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4.0

4.5 stars

hlntn's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

kanoli626's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Holy shit. Just…..holy shit. I felt so sad for this family and all the hardships they went through. I know the Japanese were terrible towards the Koreans during that time, but I’ve never properly read or heard about it, so this was interesting but also incredibly sad and infuriating. 

maddeesryan's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

absolutely loved this. almost a modern “one hundred years of solitude.” it would have been a good callback to marquez if lee had chosen to end the novel with the birth of a child with a cleft palate, but that wouldn’t really align with the themes present in this novel. just would have been a super fun allusion; however, the novel itself would probably require different overarching themes, as hope isn’t quite a theme present in “one hundred years of solitude”. pachinko feels more about growth, hope, the passage of time & the changes that occur generation to generation. 
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manateemira's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

jennproc's review

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challenging emotional informative sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0