Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

160 reviews

figsofpeach's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring sad medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

bites_of_books's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

Yes, I truly love well-crafted historical fiction that spans generations and this one did not disappoint. 

The characters are complex and multidimensional, the prose is beautiful and careful in how it describes each event and each decision made by the characters. The historical context is given without it being overwhelming or dry and it makes it all feel urgent. 

I breezed through this book and I'll definitely pick up other works by Min Jin Lee. Highly recommend! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

siomhaw's review against another edition

emotional informative sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Terminal illness, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

matcha_cat's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Misogyny, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Suicide, Violence, and Alcohol

hankhank's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed this book. The vividness of the story's world was built up from the tiniest personal details, into a whole society. The main cast of characters felt like real people to me, and I'll miss their company. It was especially impressive how the author moved through time so seamlessly, and how characters we met first as children aged so realistically. There are lots of terrible things that happened in the story, and many sad moments, but also many sweet, funny, beautiful things, too. I would recommend this to anyone who like stories about people.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Xenophobia, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War

moonmemoirs's review against another edition

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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I have many many many thoughts about this book. There were parts of it I absolutely adored, and parts of it I found tedious.

 I think the main objective of the book as a historical fiction novel gets across well - you learn deeply about the discrimination the Korean diaspora in Japan faces regardless of their choices, actions, faith, loyalties, and bloodline. It was introspective and informative in this sense, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning this. It was done with a level of skill as well that makes the reader sympathise out of incredulity at the treatment of Koreans in Japan, even five generations in, being treated as lesser just because of their bloodline. Even lesser than the lowest caste of Japan. It’s heartbreaking that whether you decide to pass as Korean or Japanese, you must suffer the consequences of betrayal and poverty and oppression in the aftermath of the occupation.

 In terms of characters, the main characters of the earlier generations are really well developed, and I found myself really connected to those characters. I didn’t find that same connection with Solomon’s storyline, including his stepmother, Hana, Pheobe and Kazu. I also found some characters strange, such as Haruki’s wife’s narrative - it felt empty and unfinished. I felt some ennui because I think the characters in the new generations become less dimensional? Like you don’t empathise with them as much and the author is trying to force two dimensions on them like “oh a woman can only be a whore out of desperation but it’s justified because she has trauma from this superficial thing” and it’s a stark contrast from the earlier generations where they build that character development in many many many layers. One layer characters too were done better in the earlier chapters - I loved Isak deeply, and I found it interesting how a book that convinces you of perceptions around every character being troubled, desperate, war-torn, mistake-making, etc stood in stark contrast to this brief character who is perfect in every way, self sacrificing to a lengthy degree, morally benevolent and wise beyond his years. 

Writing wise, I actually really enjoyed how the “Pachinko” element of the book which characterises the struggle of the Korean diaspora in Japan, in the third chapter really comes into focus. I enjoyed the storytelling of Yangjin and Sunja and Kyunghee better than Noa, Haruki, Solomon etc but I like how the objective of the book related to the title with the shadow of being in the Pachinko business looming over them. No matter how clean Mozasu’s money is, the Pachinko business, people are regarded as Yakuza and dirty anyways, adding another dimension to the discrimination the characters already face by being Korean. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime and War

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Genocide, Infertility, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Lesbophobia, and Colonisation

All of my favourite characters die. First Hoonie, then Isak, then Noa. Noa’s death really wrecked me, and I both found it strange yet enjoyable how the author kills characters with the last line in a chapter and then shifts the narrative immediately in the next chapter. Also, I understand the need for complexity in desperate times but was the borderline pedophilic incest necessary for this book?

thenoboshow's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation, War, and Classism

sha's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Pregnancy, Abandonment, War, and Classism

drkng31's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Death, Drug use, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Classism

sas_lk's review against another edition

emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This was the type of novel I had to digest slowly, and take the time to enjoy every chapter. I really liked the first two thirds, they felt like 4.5-5 stars at parts. 
The last third is unfortunately what lost me a little, and it is also why I am giving it 4 stars instead of something higher. At the end it started feeling a little disjointed, like the author lost track of the story a little bit. We were following the POVs of way more characters all of a sudden and quite a few felt pointless - atleast the depth that the author went into. And then it felt like the author added a couple traumatic things to keep the book sad and shocking without delving into these traumatic events. It felt like at the end she was speeding through her writing instead of taking her time with the events and happenings like she did in the first 2 thirds - this made me lose touch with the characters, and I almost felt like I stopped knowing them; like they were different characters than the ones I had been following throughout the whole book.
Overall, a great book, and I would definitely recommend it, I just wish the author had sat with the last third a little longer and not tried to do too much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail