A review by maria_elizabeth_harden_pope
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

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

4.75

I loved this book for so many reasons. I loved that the characters are so busy being real people that they can't always do what you feel like they should do. I love that even minor characters get a little bit of exploration. I love that even as the number of characters multiply by the chapter you don't feel like you lose the connection to earlier characters. I love that the book sometimes just chooses plain exposition rather than elaborated emotional description. Sometimes the narrator can only report what the people are doing, not why they are. And I think the characters are maybe having a similar experience. I love that everything feels a little bit coincidental and random, which I think is actually really hard to achieve for such a large novel. Why not five stars? I don't know.... I think maybe you leave feeling like you have shared people's lives, but in the end its nothing more than that? But maybe that in and of itself is profound. Idk idk
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