Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

351 reviews

andrea_mtz27's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism

thecityofstarlight's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was such an awesome book. It was so cool to read about the experiences of the generations that endured Japanese control. I found the storyline to be really interesting and loved the mentions of issues outside of the plot; commentary regarding topics like socioeconomic status, survival, family dynamics, education, mental health, immigration, etc.. This book is packed with so many things to offer. I cannot recommend it enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Colonisation

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, and Grief

Minor: Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Trafficking, and Abortion

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Dementia, Abortion, and Deportation

claresmymiddle's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Suicide, Torture, and Dementia

Minor: Car accident

hello_lovely13's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, and Suicide

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Police brutality, and Abortion

lakinlindsey's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, Colonisation, War, and Classism

maryehavens's review against another edition

emotional informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

If you get the chance to get the audio, do it. The narrator was fantastic and I found myself pretty sad after I had to turn it back into the library. 
This book is so dense, I forgot that the beginning was indeed this book and not another one. That being said, it's not too dense to follow. I do recommend keeping a list of characters - it spans about 50ish years and there's a lot of people. Plus, in that time, World War II and the Korean War happen so there is a lot of history as well. Lee makes it easier by providing a year and location as each chapter heading. Still, it would have helped me to keep a list of characters. 
I had no idea about the treatment of Koreans in Japan nor the lack of country that Koreans had/have. What a weird loophole. I don't think it's specific to Japan and I don't think it would be hard to find people in America in the same situation. 
The writing is fantastic and Lee did such a wonderful job showing the cultural changes in language, attitude, opportunities, etc. as the years went by. There were so many times I was trying to tell the characters "don't go to Nagasaki!! A bomb will fall there" or the like. You definitely fall in love with the characters and my heart broke over every misfortune. 
Highly recommended. It's one of the New York Times best 100 of the 21st Century and I wholeheartedly agree.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Death, Suicide, and War

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I definitely understand why this was a National Book Award finalist; it's a totally sweeping experience of generations and history. I learned much more about the experience of Korean people in Japan than I had ever learned in school. It's important to know how severe and also where my knowledge gaps are. I did see some criticism online about anachronistic like foods and things and confusion about the style of Japanese bits that are were included in dialogue, and I look forward to reading more about that. This is one of those books where a family tree would be really helpful, but it would also be a spoiler, so I definitely understand not including it. But whew, there were a lot of characters in here. The book felt really long, but it was, and the ending seemed a bit abrupt. But I'm not sure that there's a good way to end such a saga that has moved through decades.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Rape, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War

Minor: Confinement, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicide, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

morganeua's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I felt deeply invested in and connected to ALL of these characters throughout this book - even though it spans nearly 100 years and follows many people closely. Even characters who only stuck around for a few pages felt fully realized.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

hilariescudero's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Xenophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, and Classism