Reviews tagging 'Trafficking'

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

53 reviews

ssipos's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

Pros:
- The portrayal of the many, many female characters in the novel and how their backgrounds and circumstances explained the decisions they made and the behaviors they exhibited; even unlikeable characters like Hana could be sympathized with by the end of the book
- Sunja; she was easily my favorite and a stand-out character for making the tough but right choices time and time again, despite so many factors working against her; her indomitable spirit is admirable
- The complex evolution of the Koreans living in Japan and assimilating into Japanese culture and language but without being truly accepted into Japanese society and facing continuous racism

Cons:
- The author chose to often describe the naked bodies of the female characters in detail, but not for the male characters; this may have been purposeful by the author to highlight the sexualization of the women, but it didn't feel like these multiple depictions tied into the larger story in a neat way
- The length of the novel felt long once we moved into the last generation's story (Solomon); and jumping from many characters towards the end of the book (Haruki, Hana, etc.) felt scattered and less like an epic novel and more like short stories tied together
- I wish the book had just focused on Sunja's life and the people around her - transitioning to others like Haruki, Etsuko, etc. didn't hold my attention like the beginning of the book when it was more focused on Sunja

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, and Suicide

Minor: Addiction, Police brutality, Trafficking, Abortion, and War

a minor female character, who suffers from disfigurement (crooked nose) due to the assault>

kmetzing's review against another edition

emotional informative sad fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, and Colonisation

Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Suicide, Trafficking, Car accident, Abortion, and War

orangewitchling's review against another edition

challenging 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? N/A

5.0

If I had a highest rating to give I’d give it, this book deserves every accolade and raving review. 
The writing and tone of the story was outstanding, the author didn’t use any unnecessary metaphors nor descriptions to fill pages, every sentence had a purpose to show the situation through the characters point of view. The author managed to let even the smallest character shine in its own light, which is a feat on its own. I was able to see each character’s perspective and relate to their plight. 
This is a multigenerational story with all the realistic and historical ups and downs, there were many moments of heartbreak that felt relatable and triggering. The characters were complex and  morally gray at times like any human, which helped the story be believable at a core level.
I adored Sunja and Kyunghee, they were women of their time that continuously showed strength and resilience through all the hardship. My favorite male characters were Mozasu and Solomon, they were so wholesome and lovely. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War

sophiiey's review against another edition

challenging informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

I liked the way that this book was written in the context of a family journey. It is a hard story to read because it is related to combinations of true stories from the Japan occupation of Korea and the Second World War, but the author did a very good job of making me feel connected to the family and dealing with hard issues.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and War

Moderate: Sexual violence, Torture, and Trafficking

Minor: Miscarriage and Suicide

liesthemoontells's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative reflective sad fast-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

4.25

The best works of fiction are the ones that transcend your own reality. This multi-generational saga shines a light on a specific and untold slice of human experience during one of the most often recounted periods of recent history. 

While the beats of civilian suffering during WWII are a well-trodden artistic theme, the specific marginalisation that ethnic Koreans experienced living in colonial Japan during this period are less well explored in western literature. Min Jin Lee's story takes familiar beats from war fiction and gives them a new and distinctive perspective.

While there are moments of gorgeous prose in this book, I was impressed by what a light touch the omniscient narrator's voice has throughout the book. The writing is clear and unadorned, leaving space for the characters' specific voices to shine through.

My biggest complaint about this book is that it wasn't long enough! It covers a huge swath of time in less than 500 pages, which means that each chapter is like glimpsing a vignette from the life journeys of its characters through the flash of a moving train window. I would have liked it if we had been allowed to get off and stretch our legs at each station. Instead I felt propelled through the narrative and away from the characters at each stage of their lives before I was ready.

Having said that, this book covers a huge swathe of characters, time periods and perspectives. It does not let its ambition detract from being an engrossing and entertaining read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Deportation

Minor: Rape and Trafficking

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

lizzthewizz_'s review against another edition

emotional reflective 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? Yes

5.0

Pachinko expanded my knowledge on the historical conflict and tension between Korea and Japan. I feel grateful for this author’s words and care for her characters. The MC is heartbreakingly beautiful and I saw a lot of my mother in her. She was the most resourceful and wise character of the book but was always shamed for those qualities; or rather, how she went about to obtain resources and security. 

Her desire for future generations of women to not have to suffer is painful because it made me wish so deeply that her fate had been different. Although, without her pain and suffering, she wouldn’t have found unconditional love for her two sons and eventual extended family.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Terminal illness, Trafficking, and War

gab8y_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-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

3.75

First half was great but the third book definitely dwindled off…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, and War

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Trafficking and Abortion

adoto's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

I don't think I got hooked into this book until shit hit the fan. It's medium-paced but dense. 

I think it does a really good job of what the author wanted to do, which is honestly reflect the varied experiences of being a Korean in Japan. It's also a beautiful ode to migrant grit and resolve. It just didn't grab me the way I expected it to. I would recommend it to a friend but never reread it.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Cancer, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Suicide, Police brutality, Trafficking, and Abortion

kyrajade's review against another edition

informative sad medium-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? No

3.25

I think this is an important story to tell, but I think that it wasn't written very well. The first 250 pages I was wedded to the original cast of characters, but then for the sake of making the narrative multi-generational, the author began introducing characters very shallowly who you were for some reason supposed to care about, and then the stories of these characters and the widening time skips between chapters meant that characters from the first half who you liked and felt an attachment too were picked off in the background. The author made horrible and traumatic things happen in this book and yet you didn't get to experience any of the grief of the characters because she skimmed over it with a time skip. The whole thing felt very emotionally unsastisfying, but the actual context and history of the story is an interesting read. For a character driven story, the characters introduced in the second half are flat and semi-transparent. I really enjoy multi-generational stories (100 Years of Solitude or Do Not Say We Have Nothing) and one thing the authors in both books do is carefully manage the number of characters in the book to give the reader the experience of spending time on the page with each one. This book just became too ambitious and lost so much in the process.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicide, Trafficking, and Abortion