A review by shreeya_reads
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
emotional
informative
reflective
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? No
4.0
Pachinko is a multi-generational saga charting the lives of Sunja and her family. She is a young Korean girl who ends up marrying a preacher and moving to Japan in the early 1930s, and we follow her life and that of her children and grandchildren over the next few decades.
This is a really well-written book that is also very easy to read - I was caught up in the story right from the start. It is one of those books that ends up teaching you about a culture or a time period (in this case both) simply by osmosis - I came away knowing a whole load more about Korea and its rocky relationship with Japan, and the treatment of Koreans in Japan, than I had before I read the book.
There was one point quite late in the story where I couldn't quite understand why a certain new character was being introduced and my interest flagged somewhat. But the character does become important to the story of one of Sunja's grandchildren and once that became clear, I got drawn back in again.
My only small criticism would be that it would have been quite useful to have a glossary of the Korean and Japanese terms scattered throughout the book - the meanings weren't always clear even after googling.
This is a really well-written book that is also very easy to read - I was caught up in the story right from the start. It is one of those books that ends up teaching you about a culture or a time period (in this case both) simply by osmosis - I came away knowing a whole load more about Korea and its rocky relationship with Japan, and the treatment of Koreans in Japan, than I had before I read the book.
There was one point quite late in the story where I couldn't quite understand why a certain new character was being introduced and my interest flagged somewhat. But the character does become important to the story of one of Sunja's grandchildren and once that became clear, I got drawn back in again.
My only small criticism would be that it would have been quite useful to have a glossary of the Korean and Japanese terms scattered throughout the book - the meanings weren't always clear even after googling.