Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

13 reviews

anh_read's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Confinement, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Medical content, and Medical trauma

A historical fiction about a Korean family immigrating to Japan. As the reader follows them throughout three generations, one gets a deeper insights into Korean history, as well as the life of Korean immigrants in Japan. Each generation faced their own kind of hardships and try to navigate their life in a foreign country that is hostile towards them.

emilyjeanne's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Medical trauma, and War

isacarvalho91's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Genocide, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and War

jenrazzle's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative 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

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War

oatmilkie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism, and Deportation

readingwithcoffee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

feathers4bookmarks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

Best family-saga/ multigenerational-saga I have read. This novel drew me in the way that a grandparent telling a family story does. I wasn’t reading it to find out what the ending was, but more just because I was so interested in their lives and the domestic struggles of the time/place. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Addiction

Minor: Chronic illness, Hate crime, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, and Cultural appropriation

bandysbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

This is a multi-generational story about a family. It starts in Korea, but moves to Japan and we see what the family goes through as they try to figure out their survival. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

yuki__'s review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Gore, Infertility, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

ntvenessa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

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

4.25

A gem. This is a tale about poverty, suffering, colonialism, identity, salvation, endurance, family. Min Jin Lee's background as a historian shines through and Pachinko is exemplary of great historical fiction. It is factually consistent and you will learn much of Japan's colonisation of Korea, a topic not so in regular discourse. It is also emotional, generous, and sensitive to these historical facts. The characters are distinct and each have personalities which make sense for their context. It is intergenerational. The story is just so well crafted. This makes sense given how much time and dedication Lee spent workshopping drafts. I am normally averse to thick novels, but Pachinko has me unafraid -- it is exactly as long as the story needs to be, and moreover, it is easy to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Suicide, Car accident, and Abortion

Minor: Child death and Homophobia