Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

140 reviews

maureenlessreen's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative 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? It's complicated

5.0

Absolutely beautiful, but oh my god, so devastating. Like with Still Life, which I read earlier this year, it’s hard not to believe these characters are flesh and blood, living human beings. A tale spanning 5 generations and I cared for every member of the family and almost every side character. I loved learning about a POV I’ve never considered — colonized Koreans who end up being expatriates in Japan.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Grief

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Police brutality, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

Minor: Alcoholism, Suicide, and Abortion

ivana's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and War

Moderate: Confinement, Infidelity, and Miscarriage

Minor: Abortion

maxerine's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Suicide, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Grief

Minor: Sexism, Abortion, and Sexual harassment

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

page_karla's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

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

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

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

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