Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

55 reviews

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

molly_paige's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative sad slow-paced

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

3.5

I enjoyed the plot and the overall storyline that followed one family for generations. However, certain parts of the book were overly graphic and unnecessarily descriptive. This happened frequently. Those sections made it difficult to enjoy the rich culture and history this book has to offer. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death

Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, and Classism

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

brinxleyx's review against another edition

challenging 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? No

5.0

This is a new book in my favorites list. Pachinko addresses every issue under the sun within the cultural context it was written in. I have never been so affected by a character, and this story provides many many different stories throughout the four generations of the family it focuses on. This book was both beautiful and culturally informative. There was so much I learned, and I definitely cried.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, and Xenophobia

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Bullying, Abortion, and Alcohol

moonmoonsun's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

andyourstruly's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

If you liked East of Eden, you will like this book a lot.  It has great symbolism, and the way the perspective bounces around feels very classic and manages to avoid overexplaining or getting distracted from the story the author intends to tell.  There are a number of really excellent and well-developed characters living through remarkable times, and the author does a marvellous job expressing the ideas and attitudes behind historical behaviors and ideals and the shift that has occurred over time.  Really well-researched, well-paced, and well-written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Minor: Child death, Torture, Police brutality, Trafficking, Alcohol, War, and Deportation

sunflowerwork's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism

san_dra's review against another edition

emotional 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

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail