Reviews

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

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leezavh's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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

3.0

This book starts out really strong with the first generation of characters who migrate from Korea to Japan and fight to establish their lives in a foreign country where they are seen as second-class. The amount of time you spend with Sunja, from her girlhood to her old age, makes her the most compelling character of the book and makes her pain and joy the emotional focal point. However, as the focus shifts from Sunja's generation to that of her children and grandchildren, the story loses potency. The constant time jumps interrupt the narrative just as I finally make an attachment to a set of characters. This made it so the last 300 pages of the book were just not compelling to me. I didn't care about what was happening anymore. However, the beginning was so good that it made reading the book worth it. I think this is always an issue I have with books that try to tell multi-generational stories. It feels like they can only skim the surface of the story because there is so much ground to cover and only so many pages. Intimacy is sacrificed for scale.

searobin's review against another edition

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4.0

I found this to be really fascinating most of the time! I loved the intimate look into many of the characters' lives, and how we got to know so much about even some of the side characters. I did struggle a bit with the pacing, it felt a little uneven to me. The beginning of the book definitely delved into the minutia more than the rest of the book, and that was a bit sad. I think that as more generations (and therefore more people) were introduced, it just got too hard to maintain a similar level? That was unfortunate. It also felt like the end was quite abrupt. I suppose we were just dropped into the story, and then yanked out in a similar way.

ellen_willaert's review against another edition

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5.0

4.5

almakos's review against another edition

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challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

lelesreads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

jmpeck16's review against another edition

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3.0

I feel neutral on this book. The story just sort of meandered, which is fine, but is not my preferred style. I also found Sunja a particularly passive and somewhat boring main character. What did she care about? What did she want? I can't answer those questions. She just sort of floated along, having her life dictated by society and those around her. Perhaps she is a stand in for Korea during this time--I just didn't find her particularly interesting to read about. The scope of the book was impressive, though, and I found it educational.