Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

225 reviews

xjasminelu's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad tense 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

This was so good! Slow start but you quickly become invested in the characters. I feel like I learned so much about Koreans in Japan that filled so many gaps of my understanding. Also just extremely grateful for the heart of this book - finding beauty through challenging times and acknowledging that sometimes we just have to survive off pure grit

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Abortion, Death of parent, and Colonisation

unicornialism's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Grief, and Stalking

Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Genocide, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Deportation

Minor: Bullying

kcoats's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Xenophobia, and Death of parent

bethantg's review against another edition

10% and so far most of it has been this poor young girl getting sexualised and taken advantage of

Not a fault with the book as it is a historical setting and I'm sure with the nature of this narrative it's just using this as a backstory for the protagonist, but when I started physically cringing I figured it was time to let myself rest.

I think I would like to pick it back up again someday though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Infidelity, Death of parent, and Colonisation

vyoonnwe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

theothergrl's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring 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

5.0

This is such a wonderful and interesting book. 500 pages and I'd still call it fast-paced and gripping; I was on the edge of my seat, inhaling it for 3 days, I just couldn't put it down. It's an enduringly sad book, but it is a history book, and it's a sad history.

Pachinko is so deeply researched and historically dense but as well as that Min Jin Lee went to interview many Korean Japanese, sharing: "I was so humbled by the[ir] breadth and complexity...that I put aside my old draft and started to write the book again". Her conscientiousness is very clear, she wants to do right by her characters, so they feel respected. 
There were moments when I thought there was so much tragedy in this one family, that I questioned the authenticity. 
However, the reality of colonisation is more violent and cruel than we who've not experienced it could ever imagine. Pachinko tells the story of a family and their close friends over 4 generations. We follow the weaving of generational trauma, reading it become more and more tangled, complex, and oppressive. There was one tragedy that felt like a means to an end, the plot wasn't moved perfectly there, but ultimately Jin Lee had to fit a whole history into this one story.

I really enjoyed the writing-it was direct, not at all flowery, which suited. Everything was informative including the dialogue, which lacked some casualness, though it didn't make it deficient. We got some insight into the thoughts and feelings of the characters, but they're also kept private from the reader. They'll often start a thought, but feel unable to finish it because they cannot freely point out the prejudices and the unfairness of it all. The only characters who do, aren't Korean-Japanese, creating a stark contrast in one-sided conversations.

There is a very poignant chapter in the book where Sunja and her mother argue and cry over how all the suffering began. They shoulder the blame for it all, they yell about how hard they've had to work their whole lives, how they've never rested. Neither of them wished for it, but they were both children when they took on the responsibility. Throughout the book they come back to the phrase: "a woman's lot is to suffer", Sunja detests the words yet cannot escape them. It's the first raw moment they've ever been able to have, and it's like a dam breaks. It's so sad, but a wonderful chapter.

Pachinko tells a story of oppression, of the silenced voices who still seek justice to this day (Japan still avoids accountability for the war crimes committed). The ending is abrupt because it's not ended and the oppression lives on even now.
 
If you're not a big history reader, I'm not, you'll still love it because it's fiction, it's quick, and digestible. Big must read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Police brutality, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, and Sexual harassment

aidamaria_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

A heart-wrenching story about war, suffering and social injustice. I am left with some questions about certain people and how their lives (may have) ended, but that’s just like real life, isn’t it?

The research it took to create this book and incorporate so many interesting characters into the story much have been tremendous, and I’m grateful to have learnt so much about history through this work of literary fiction. I had never considered the world wars through a non-Western lens before, so this was an eye-opening reading experience.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

dynamiccanvas's review against another edition

sad slow-paced

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

2.75

Overall I appreciated the historic lense into the family's life. I learned a lot about the nuance of Korean/Japanese life during the time period. I just wish there was less focus on sex. A lot of the sexual interactions felt predatory, and it was uncomfortable reading about it from the perspective of the perpetrator. It wasn't for me. Bar that, I enjoyed the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Suicide, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Bullying, Child death, Infertility, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Vomit, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Deportation

dramabug23's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful sad tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Death of parent

hjb_128's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicide, Torture, and Death of parent

Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Abortion