A New York Times Top Ten Book of the Year and National Book Award finalist, Pachinko is an "extraordinary epic" of four generations of a poor Korean immigrant family as they fight to control their destiny in 20th-century Japan (San Francisco Chronicle).
NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2017 * A USA TODAY TOP TEN OF 2017 * JULY PICK FOR THE PBS NEWSHOUR-NEW YORK TIMES BOOK CLUB NOW READ THIS * FINALIST FOR THE 2018DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE* WINNER OF THE MEDICI BOOK CLUB PRIZE
Roxane Gay's Favorite Book of 2017, Washington Post
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * #1 BOSTON GLOBE BESTSELLER * USA TODAY BESTSELLER * WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER * WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER
"There could only be a few winners, and a lot of losers. And yet we played on, because we had hope that we might be the lucky ones."
In the early 1900s, teenaged Sunja, the adored daughter of a crippled fisherman, falls for a wealthy stranger at the seashore near her home in Korea. He promises her the world, but when she discovers she is pregnant--and that her lover is married--she refuses to be bought. Instead, she accepts an offer of marriage from a gentle, sickly minister passing through on his way to Japan. But her decision to abandon her home, and to reject her son's powerful father, sets off a dramatic saga that will echo down through the generations.
Richly told and profoundly moving, Pachinko is a story of love, sacrifice, ambition, and loyalty. From bustling street markets to the halls of Japan's finest universities to the pachinko parlors of the criminal underworld, Lee's complex and passionate characters--strong, stubborn women, devoted sisters and sons, fathers shaken by moral crisis--survive and thrive against the indifferent arc of history.
*Includes reading group guide*
Editorial Reviews
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One of Buzzfeed's "32 Most Exciting Books Coming In 2017"
Included in The Millions' "Most Anticipated: The Great 2017 Book Preview"
One of Elle's "25 Most Anticipated Books by Women for 2017"
BBC: "Ten Books to Read in 2017"
One of BookRiot's "Most Anticipated Books of 2017"
One of Nylon's "50 Books We Can't Wait To Read In 2017"
One of Entertainment Weekly's Best New Books
One of BookBub's 22 Most Anticipated Book Club Reads of 2017
"Stunning... Despite the compelling sweep of time and history, it is the characters and their tumultuous lives that propel the narrative... A compassionate, clear gaze at the chaotic landscape of life itself. In this haunting epic tale, no one story seems too minor to be briefly illuminated. Lee suggests that behind the facades of wildly different people lie countless private desires, hopes and miseries, if we have the patience and compassion to look and listen."―The New York Times Book Review
"In 1930s Korea, an earnest young woman, abandoned by the lover who has gotten her pregnant, enters into a marriage of convenience that will take her to a new life in Japan. Thus begins Lee's luminous new novel PACHINKO--a powerful meditation on what immigrants sacrifice to achieve a home in the world. PACHINKO confirms Lee's place among our finest novelists."―Junot Díaz, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and This Is How You Lose Her
"A deep, broad, addictive history of a Korean family in Japan enduring and prospering through the 20th century."―David Mitchell, Guardian, New York Times bestselling author of The Bone Clocks
"Astounding. The sweep of Dickens and Tolstoy applied to a 20th century Korean family in Japan. Min Jin Lee's PACHINKO tackles all the stuff most good novels do-family, love, cabbage-but it also asks questions that have never been more timely. What does it mean to be part of a nation? And what can one do to escape its tight, painful, familiar bonds?"―Gary Shteyngart, New York Times bestselling author of Little Failure and Super Sad True Love Story
"Both for those who love Korea, as well as for those who know no more than Hyundai, Samsung and kimchi, this extraordinary book will prove a revelation of joy and heartbreak. I could not stop turning the pages, and wished this most poignant of sagas would never end. Min Jin Lee displays a tenderness and wisdom ideally matched to an unforgettable tale that she relates just perfectly."―Simon Winchester, New York Times bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman and Korea: A Walk through the Land of Miracles
"PACHINKO is elegant and soulful, both intimate and sweeping. This story of several generations of one Korean family in Japan is the story of every family whose parents sacrificed for their children, every family whose children were unable to recognize the cost, but it's also the story of a specific cultural struggle in a riveting time and place. Min Jin Lee has written a big, beautiful book filled with characters I rooted for and cared about and remembered after I'd read the final page."―Kate Christensen, Pen/Faulkner-winning author of The Great Man and Blue Plate Special
"An exquisite, haunting epic...'moments of shimmering beauty and some glory, too,' illuminate the narrative...Lee's profound novel...is shaped by impeccable research, meticulous plotting, and empathic perception."―Booklist (starred review)
"PACHINKO by Min Jin Lee is a great book, a passionate story, a novel of magisterial sweep. It's also fiendishly readable-the real-deal. An instant classic, a quick page-turner, and probably the best book of the year."
―Darin Strauss, National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author of Half a Life: A Memoir
"The breadth and depth of challenges come through clearly, without sensationalization. The sporadic victories are oases of sweetness, without being saccharine. Lee makes it impossible not to develop tender feelings towards her characters--all of them, even the most morally compromised. Their multifaceted engagements with identity, family, vocation, racism, and class are guaranteed to provide your most affecting sobfest of the year."―BookRiot, "Most Anticipated Books of 2017"
About the Author
Min Jin Lee is a recipient of fellowships in Fiction from the Guggenheim Foundation (2018) and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard (2018-2019). Her novel Pachinko (2017) was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction, a runner-up for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, winner of the Medici Book Club Prize, and one of the New York Times' "Ten Best Books of 2017." A New York Times bestseller, Pachinko was also one of the "Ten Best Books" of the year for BBC and the New York Public Library, and a "best international fiction" pick for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In total, it was on over seventy-five best books of the year lists, including NPR, PBS, and CNN, and it was a selection for Now Read This, the joint book club of PBS NewsHour and the New York Times. Pachinko will be translated into twenty-seven languages. Lee's debut novel Free Food for Millionaires (2007) was one of the best books of the year for the Times of London, NPR's Fresh Air, and USA Today, and it was a national bestseller. Her writings have appeared in the New Yorker, NPR's Selected Shorts, One Story, the New York Review of Books, the New York Times Magazine, the New York Times Book Review, the Times Literary Supplement, the Guardian, Condé Nast Traveler, the Times of London, andthe Wall Street Journal. Lee served three consecutive seasons as a Morning Forum columnist of the Chosun Ilbo of South Korea. In 2018, she was named as one of Adweek's Creative 100 for being one of the "ten writers and editors who are changing the national conversation," and one of the Guardian's Frederick Douglass 200. She received an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from Monmouth College. She will be a Writer-in-Residence at Amherst College from 2019-2022.
Product details
ASIN : 1455563927
Publisher : Grand Central Publishing; Reprint edition (November 14, 2017)
Language : English
Paperback : 512 pages
ISBN-10 : 9781455563920
ISBN-13 : 978-1455563920
Item Weight : 15.2 ounces
Dimensions : 5.38 x 1.5 x 8 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#6 in Asian American Literature & Fiction
#13 in Cultural Heritage Fiction
#52 in Family Saga Fiction
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Biography
Min Jin Lee is a recipient of fiction fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study at Harvard. Her second novel Pachinko (2017) was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction, runner-up for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, winner of the Medici Book Club Prize, and a New York Times 10 Best Books of 2017. A New York Times Bestseller, Pachinko was also a Top 10 Books of the Year for BBC, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and the New York Public Library. Pachinko was a selection for “Now Read This,” the joint book club of PBS NewsHour and The New York Times. It was on over 75 best books of the year lists, including NPR, PBS, and CNN. Pachinko will be translated into 25 languages. Lee’s debut novel Free Food for Millionaires (2007) was a Top 10 Books of the Year for The Times of London, NPR’s Fresh Air, USA Today, and a national bestseller. Her writings have appeared in The New Yorker, NPR’s Selected Shorts, One Story, The New York Review of Books, The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, The Times Literary Supplement, The Guardian, Conde Nast Traveler, The Times of London, and Wall Street Journal. She served three consecutive seasons as a Morning Forum columnist of the Chosun Ilbo of South Korea. In 2018, Lee was named as an Adweek Creative 100 for being one of the “10 Writers and Editors Who are Changing the National Conversation” and a Frederick Douglass 200. She received an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Monmouth College. She will be a Writer-in-Residence at Amherst College from 2019-2022.
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Byron
VINE VOICE
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely fantasticReviewed in the United States on January 20, 2018
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Pachinko by Min Jin Lee is a family saga about a four generations of a Korean family that is set in Korea and Japan. It’s a National Book Award finalist, and, in what may be an even greater honor than that, it made my Favorite Books list.
I have found that it is easier to explain why I don’t like a particular book or to point out a book’s flaws than it is to explain why I absolutely loved one. It’s like explaining why a rainbow is beautiful. I can talk about how the colors are pretty or how it made me feel, but there is something about rainbows, sunsets, and the best works of art that transcends easy explanation. You just have to experience them. Read Pachinko.
The format of the book is straightforward. It proceeds chronologically from about 1900-ish to 1989 and follows various characters that belong to one family. It never sprawls out of control – there aren’t 37 second-cousins that you will have to keep track of – and there aren’t flash-backs and flash-forwards that could potentially cause confusion. There are occasional Japanese or Korean words sprinkled around, but their meaning is apparent from the context. I don’t speak a lick of those languages, and I followed everything without ever having to consult a dictionary. The prose is simple and straightforward, generally consisting of short, direct sentences. There’s not a lot of fluff. Therefore, the book reads quickly, despite being an almost 500 page family saga about sexism, fate, hard work, destiny, chance, war, poverty, racism, familial obligations, identity, immigration, citizenship, language, education, opportunity, community, and faith.
The main characters are diverse, interesting, flawed, and generally fundamentally good people. The characters are not very Dynamic (at least in an obvious way), but they weren’t really intended to be. This isn’t a story populated with characters that have grand, clear character arcs. This made them feel more realistic to me. How many people do you know that are on a Hero’s Journey? Most people I know just try to keep their heads down, work to put food on the table, and hope for good opportunities for their children.
I’ve said before that I am a fan of history, and I was generally ignorant of Korean culture in Japan. Pachinko is not some dry history lesson, though. It’s as entertaining as a soap opera.
You should read it.
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bookworm
3.0 out of 5 stars A novel of inconsistencies -- highs and lows across character, plot and styleReviewed in the United States on April 5, 2018
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I'm joining the smallish percent who found this novel far less engaging than the reviews and accolades would suggest. I didn't dislike it and I read the entire book but I found it slow-going and very uneven, both in the writing, characterization and plotting. I remain surprised this was a National Book Award nominee. As is the case with many generational sagas, it often had the feel of an outline that was filled in episodically. In some chapters, we got tremendous detail; in others, months and years of action were compressed into a few paragraphs. The themes of change, of discrimination and hatred, of the slow destruction of key aspects of Japanese/Asian society, of women's and men's roles, of sex, of work and the identify work confers, were all interesting, but as with so much of this novel, they were addressed unevenly. Some characters were fleshed out in great detail; others with broad brush strokes. In general, Lee does way better with women than men, but I never really felt I "knew" any of the characters beyond Sunja and to some extent Kyunghee. As we moved into the later years and second and third generations, the characters felt more like caricatures -- representing "types" rather than three-dimensional people.
The style, as others have noted, is simple and spare. Sometimes that works well, and there are sections that truly resonated, where I stopped in admiration of a well-crafted sentence or metaphor. But just as frequently, I found sections that were awkward and definitely seemed to be written by someone for whom English was a second language. The sweep of the novel, while impressive, had similar inconsistencies. In some parts, we moved from month to month or year to year and then suddenly jumped several years. This added to the sense we were following an outline rather than a fleshed-out novel. Given Japan's role in the war, for example, it was strange how little of that came through. Even the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki seemed like a footnote; there was virtually nothing about the level of devastation, despite Yoseb's being caught in the Nagasaki bombing and badly burnt and wounded. And by the time we got to the 1990s, it felt as though Lee were racing to finish, sending characters off to die or disappear, with one of the most abrupt endings I've ever read.
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R. C.
1.0 out of 5 stars Harlequin romance meets second rate historical novel- Horrible!Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2019
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How did this make it onto any sort of book awards list at all? I normally follow editor choice lists, or take up books that have won or at least been considered for awards but I could not wait to get to the end of this book to make sure that my poor opinion was not somehow upset by some miracle of writing in the last chapters- it wasn't. This is absolute trash writing! Paper-thin characters surround the central character despite just about every single character needing a full description of what they are wearing and, really, there are just too many characters in this brooding, tragic tale. Sunja's childhood with Hoonie was good and it was good to know Korean culture up to that point. However, I don't need to know about Hansu's driver or the whore he beats up in his fancy car, or the secret Korean gardener Hansu hardly ever sees. I blame the editor here for letting this get past Isak's death. The book could have ended there because the rest of the book seems like a frustrating attempt at giving us a further look into Sunja's tragic life and the last chapters are basically running on fumes. And, really, was it not obvious that Sunja and Hansu were going to meet again? Straight out of a Harlequin romance novel. Noa shoots himself? In pacifist gun-banning Japan? Not likely. Just examples of the author not knowing how to deal with her characters' arcs and an editor who could not direct their writer to better ends. Throwing in gay and lesbian encounters was just blatant reaching. That a study-guide is pretentiously added to the digital edition shows how high this author thinks of their own labor or wants it considered. Seems evident this author's college idea for this book never developed much further than that. I'm truly sorry I wasted precious time reading this but felt warning others is worth the extra time invested in writing this review.
113 people found this helpful
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Joan C. Curtis
1.0 out of 5 stars I Should Have Stopped Reading SoonerReviewed in the United States on March 28, 2019
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Because this book has so many positive reviews and was a National Book Award Finalist, I kept reading when I should have stopped. The head-hopping drove me crazy. The author went from head to head almost in the same sentence. I found this poor writing totally confusing. How could such a book be a finalist for the National Book Award? Clearly the only reason was it was about something most non-Koreans know nothing about.
The other reason I should have stopped reading sooner is it was book-throwingly, nail-bitingly repetitive. In how many ways can you say that the Japanese discriminated against the Koreans? Please. She said it once, twice, one million times in all kinds of ways. Why? If I were Japanese, I'd be absolutely offended reading this book, clearly by a Korean.
No, it wasn't easy living under the siege of Japan. And, no, it wasn't easy living in Japan and not being able to go back to your own country (Korea) because of war and chaos. That was most interesting and that got this book one star. But, why must the author tell us this with each character. There was little distinction between the characters because all had the same angst.
And, the ending. Yep, I read to 90 percent. So, I nearly got to the ending, but then, I stopped. I've never stopped reading a book after having committed that much time to it. Never. But, I lost all interest in the new characters introduced at the end. Who cared what happened to Hana or Phoebe? Certainly, I didn't.
Amazon, you really need to be more diligent with the reviews. I cannot believe that such a poorly written, repetitive, offensive book could have gotten so many positive reviews!
A frustrated reader...
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M. Williams
3.0 out of 5 stars I wanted to love this book, but......Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2018
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If this book had ended about 3/4 of the way through, I would have given 4 or 5 stars. It was a really good story....until it took a turn during the last part of the book. I'm not a prude, but suddenly it was all about sexual scenarios that didn't even seem believable, along with other unlikely events. I wanted to love this book, but I can only say I liked most of it and could have done without the rushed and unsatisfying ending.
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Laurie A. Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful characters in a family sagaReviewed in the United States on September 18, 2016
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Pachinko is a great big sprawling family saga set in Korea and Japan and spanning 70 years. Sunja is a teenaged girl living with her mother, who runs a boarding house in a fishing village in Korea. All Sunja knows is work, but she does not dislike this. It’s what her mother does, too. Then she meets a fish broker, a suave older man who seduces her, impregnates her, and then informs her he’s married. He says he’ll support her, but she wants nothing more to do with him. Her face is saved when a missionary staying at the boarding house says he will marry her and raise the child as his own. They move to Japan, where Koreans are looked down on. Thence starts a new round of endless working, something all the characters will know for all their lives, whether it’s physical toil or mental.
The tale follows Sunja and her family for four generations. I found the first half, which dealt mainly with Sunja and her sister-in-law who became her best friend, more engrossing than the latter half that was about her descendants. That section was interesting, but the stark contrast between Sunja, her mother, and sister-in-law and their husbands, and the younger generations was jolting. I just found the women more interesting than the men. They are so strong, mentally and physically. But their lives are very circumscribed compared to the men. The men are city people; the women rural in outlook even when living in the city.
As Koreans in Japan, they are considered visitors even when they were born there. There were jobs they could never have; it was illegal to rent to them. When a boy turns fourteen, he has to register, be fingerprinted and interviewed, and he has to ask for permission to remain in Japan, even though he was born there and has never been to Korea. This process will be repeated every three years. And this was in the 1970s, not the 1870s. Getting Japanese citizenship was extremely difficult. But Sunja’s family does get ahead, attaining a comfortable living.
This novel is both an absorbing tale of family dynamics and a fascinating look at another culture and time. It’s a big book, but I read it quickly, unable to put it down. The characters are so well developed that I really cared about them, especially Sunja and her sister-in-law. Sometimes I wanted to strangle one or another of the characters, because they are just totally realized humans. Excellent book.
701 people found this helpful
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S. Kinnevy
1.0 out of 5 stars Such a disappointmentReviewed in the United States on August 30, 2018
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Just boring, primarily because the narrative voice and all of character dialogue sounded exactly alike -- monotonal all the way through. Could not therefore engage with anyone, since I kept forgetting who was talking. Although the historical oppression of Koreans in Japan was worth writing about, this book did little to illuminate the theme and there were virtually no Japanese characters shown individually so it was hard to feel the full weight of the oppression.
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Steven E. Sanderson
2.0 out of 5 stars Endless East Asian melodramaReviewed in the United States on August 13, 2018
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In place-based long fiction, two contemporary trends seem to dominate: novels that use place as window dressing for commercial purposes and genuinely place-derived stories with real texture. Among the former I would include Ohanesian’s recent Orhan’s Inheritance, and among the latter Ismail Kadare’s Chronicle in Stone, or Madeleine Thien’s brilliant Do Not Tell Us We Have Nothing. Pachinko belongs to the former category and ranks with Dynasty and other shallow melodramas that seem to include everything but the kitchen sink. The editor didn’t appear to be awake through the novel, leaving awkward syntax and superficial cliches all over. The writing is often puerile, especially in reference to body parts. Locals are described as natives, and the female characters are either whores or madonnas. I’m surprised at how disappointing this book was, given the praise it received.
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S. Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars "History has failed us, but no matter."Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2018
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Pachinko's very first words are: "History has failed us, but no matter." Who is the speaker? Is she one of the main characters? Is she the narrator? Or is she the author, Min Jin Lee? Personally, I think it makes the most sense if this is the author's aside: a statement even beyond the scope of the narrator, because, as one reads along, there is no one omniscient narrator.
So, what does this opening line mean? There are so many ways to interpret what "History has failed us..." means -- possibly showing the brilliance or ambiguity of this aside and its connection to the larger whole. Thus, I will start with its subordinating clause: "...but no matter." What spunk and audacity! An entire discipline, in fact, the discipline of remembering and understanding the past has failed these people, whoever they are, but no matter. Perhaps, for this author, telling these stories -- fictional as they may be -- is a refusal to quit, rather than just spinning interesting war-time stories. History has failed them because these are poor, abused Koreans in Japan during war-times, because these are women and children, because public pain is shameful and public shame is painful -- probably, better left forgotten. But no matter. For Hoonie, Yangjin, Sunja, Isak, Noa, Mozasu, Yoseb, Kyunghee, and Solomon, being forgotten happens -- an inevitable part of life -- but no matter.
One of many things I love about this book is its "thick" description of women and their experiences. By "thick" I mean a detailed, non-reductionist, not-stereotypical, and not-one-dimensional, but varied descriptions that somehow cohere together without being frustrating. In short, the thick description seems to reflect life's realities (caveat lector: I, of course, can only speak foolishly ignorant as a man who will never fully understand women's experiences). Consider the following repeated refrain: "A woman's lot is to suffer." Nearly every woman with enough narrated time in Pachinko has said this. Sometimes, it was prescriptive: this will be your unavoidable burden. Other times, it was descriptive: this was my unavoidable burden. Additionally, it was said with hopeless abandonment and as a source of pride and strength. Yes, suffering is horrible. But it is not wholly horrible -- few things are in our complicated world.
cf. sooholee.com
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Beach Reader
1.0 out of 5 stars Depressing, endless deathsReviewed in the United States on January 22, 2019
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Our book club selected this book to read last month and the majority of us HATED the book. We could not, for the life of us, understand why it won so many awards. How could they have gotten it so wrong? First of all, the book attempts to cover decades and decades of history with this family. At first, it seems doable ……. at the mid-point of the book the author seems to realize that she will have to "speed it up" to get us to the end. If there is a character you become attached to, be careful because he/she will probably be dead before you know it. Some linger for a while and you wonder if they are ever going to "exit", while others are extinguished in a heartbeat (no pun intended). We found the long series of events to be extremely depressing. We would not recommend the book to anyone.
26 people found this helpful
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Plubius
5.0 out of 5 stars A Haunting, Generational, and Important ReadReviewed in the United States on December 29, 2017
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Similar to "Homegoing" by Yaa Gysasi, this novel works in generational fashion with a close eye on history and the way its waves fold over each other before retreating back into the larger, omnipresent ocean. The depths of discrimination are told with nuance more than conviction, and there is a melancholy that enchants the entire text. A haunting mood for the reader to inhabit, if willing.
This is not a novel driven by plot; it is dense, and the reader must turn the pages--not the other way around. Indeed, Lee seemed to have refused to lean on the climactic moments, subduing them in a way few texts do. And though this lack of action may disappoint some readers, it is a confident decision that heightens the mood.
And perhaps this says more about me than the text, but I learned an incredible amount about a part of the world I knew little about. The Japanese occupation of Korea, the existence of pachinko parlors and their ties to Korean discrimination/underworld, and the religious customs interwoven through it all--all these things were fairly new to me, and leave me wanting to know more.
This book takes a great deal of commitment, but its haunting feel resonates in ways worth experiencing.
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Tony Whalen
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing - too commercial and banal.Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2018
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I was hoping this wouldnt be another commercial book made more popular by an award nom, but it totally was. The history surrounding the story is fascinating and worth the two stars. The story itself is very boring, very predictable, one note, and of course to draw readers (or again, maybe an award consideration) it has to include sex scenes that add nothing. There are better books out there not being read so this is a disappointment.
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tomokaijun
1.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointed. Japanese words used were not often historically accurate ...Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2018
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Very disappointed. Japanese words used were not often historically accurate in this book. Especially, maji.. used often in this book is more of a new word and mostly used by youth. I am from Japan and I was excited to learn what went on in the Japan-korea history in a personal level. The story was all over the place and no focal point through out the book. And the author assumed a lot of Japanese traditions be same as western ones. Like in Japan, a family shares a family tomb stone and the urns containing ashes of the deceased are stored under the tomb stone. Why does noa not have a tomb stone ? I have never heard of anyone buried in a casket like here in the U.S.
Pachinko isn't necessarily associated with Yakuzas at all. In fact, I was confused throughout the book. It is more of a pass time activity. Many people to do it to release stress. Unless you choose to associate with them, you do not really find them at all.
I feel like this book was written based up on what she learned from people she knew and also her assumptions of Japanese people and culture. Not accurate.
Also, I was very distracted by the sexual interactions. I felt like it was not needed at all in this story and too vivid and descriptive. She should have described how people felt about each other, especially what was going on sonja*s head and more details about how people died, rather than sporadic detailed sex scenes. People just die in this book and you kinda find out in later chapters that it has been some time since their deaths. So I was like oh so he is gone. But well, how did he go ? How did others endure ?
This book left me with a lot of questions and confusion
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MJ
1.0 out of 5 stars One DimensionalReviewed in the United States on October 13, 2018
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Dismal, repetitive, boring. No depth of character or plot. Same mantra over and over. Plodded through to the end...do not recommend.
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sas
2.0 out of 5 stars A Dull Multi-generational Saga with No Real PlotReviewed in the United States on January 5, 2019
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I simply don't understand the numerous accolades and awards this book is receiving. For me, it was a long, repetitive narrative about several generations of Koreans living in Japan in the 20th century, including during the war years. The early chapters were interesting and set the tone for the hardship Koreans experienced both in their homeland and later as unwelcome immigres in Japan. But then the story meanders and drifts without truly tying the people depicted to the times. I kept wondering what they were thinking and how the momentous events of the era affected them. It was not about that, but about drudgery, sex, death, deception, and possible corruption over and over again. A novel needs a beginning, climax and denouement and this had none of it, just a long recounting of mostly unhappy lives leading to nowhere special. Too bad, as the issue of Koreans suffering in the 20th century (especially under the Japanese) deserves attention. But this book doesn't fill the bill, sadly.
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Claire
3.0 out of 5 stars An uneven read...started stronger than it finishedReviewed in the United States on December 21, 2017
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I liked this book. I expected to love it, given the NBA nomination and all the great things I'd heard about it, and because I usually love multigenerational family sagas. This one started out a lot stronger than it finished, and the latter part of the book felt like it was written by a different person altogether.
I liked learning about Koreans in Japan, and I cared a great deal about what happened to Sunja throughout the story. But once her descendants came into play, there were too many people to keep up with, the story started to move along too quickly, characters unexpectedly died without much ado or impact.
Worth reading, but maybe don't expect to be blown away.
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Jenna Seaver
1.0 out of 5 stars Very Dark and DepressingReviewed in the United States on November 20, 2018
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I usually love a historical fiction - especially multi-generational! However, despite all the rich material of the countries and time frame in history, this novel failed to deliver. I read 90% of the book before giving up in disappointment so dark and dreary! Best novelists contrast the horrible with wonderful to inspire...don't bother!
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Polly Girl
2.0 out of 5 stars Big Disappointment and Lacking in Character DepthReviewed in the United States on July 17, 2018
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This book was a disappointment. The characters were far too predicable and way underdeveloped. A better idea would have been to concentrate on the main characters and less so on all their boring descendants. Yes, it spoke of Japanese treatment of Koreans during the Japanese colonial period on mainland Japan, but it ignored what was happening elsewhere on the bigger world stage, especially Japan during and after WWll. Instead, the author tried to cover too long of a timespan and glossed over or omitted too much (except Pachinko Parlors). This might have been okay if her intention was to deal with character development, but sadly that didn't happen either. Horrible things happened all around them in POW camps in Japan, to the Koreans living on the island of Saipan, not to mention the dropping the Atomic bombs on Japan, etc! How could history of this magnitude be happening all around them and just be ignored--was the world of these characters really that narrow and shallow? Were they living in a vacuum? Maybe younger readers who lack historical knowledge about the war wouldn't mind this, but readers who look for historical accuracies would find themselves very disappointed. Don't bother.
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Tigerlily64
4.0 out of 5 stars Korea. A Powerful Epic Tale, Spanning Many DecadesReviewed in the United States on July 25, 2020
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Pachinko is historical fiction, one of my favorite genres. This book was a National Book Award finalist. I can see why. It is certainly a powerful epic tale, spanning many decades. For me, Pachinko was unique in that although I had read quite a few works of historical fiction about Japan and China, I had never read a book about Koreans and their interactions with the Japanese.
Sonja is the daughter of Hoonie and Yangjin who run a boarding house in Gohyang, Korea in the early 1900s. Hoonie is the crippled son of a poor fisherman, and Yangjin is the daughter of a poor farmer, so they are used to struggling to survive. When Sonja’s loving father, Hoonie, dies of tuberculosis when she is 13 years old, she and her mother continue to work hard to keep the boarding house above water.
Sunja is now in charge of shopping for the boardinghouse.
In the early 1900s, the Japanese imperialists have taken over Korea. The Japanese look down upon the Koreans who are considered lazy and dirty, “a cunning and wily tribe”. Many Koreans starve and others die. Fortunately, Yangjin has a garden and chickens, and Yangjin is good at making economical meals for her family and boarders. It is hard to make the food stretch, but Yangjin and Sunja manage to do so.
Koh Hansu, a wealthy man who has a wife and 3 children in Osaka, notices 16 year-old Sunja on her shopping errands. He is attracted to her and follows her to see where she goes. One day, he sees that three Japanese boys are mocking her for being Korean. The boys surround Sunja and then start to assault her. Koh Hansu saves her from the boys and gains Sunja’s trust. Koh Hansu continues to pursue her. She does not know that he is already married and falls hard for him. He professes to love her and gives her a gold pocket watch. She wants to be his wife, and expects him to propose marriage. When she gets pregnant and he then tells her that he is already married, he offers to provide for her, but she rejects his offer as dishonorable.
For weeks, Sonja and her mother have taken care of a kind Japanese boarder and pastor, Baek Isak, who has been ill with tuberculosis. To save Sunja’s reputation and give her child a good name, he offers to marry Sunja and take her to Osaka where his family lives. Sunja and Baek Isak move in with his brother Yoseb and his wife Kyunghee. Yoseb has contempt for the pregnant Sunja, but having no children of her own, Kyunghee welcomes Sunja and is excited about the baby. Baek Isak and Sonja also have a son together, Mozasu, who struggles with the stigma of being half Korean. After Baek Isak dies, Sunja gets a job in a restaurant, since she now has no other income. Kim, the man whom she considered her boss, is really employed by Koh Hansu, who owns the restaurant and got her the job.
In 1940, Japan invades China and then soon joins the Axis powers with Germany and Italy. Food becomes scarce in Osaka. The restaurant closes because there is very little food to buy at the market. On the last night at the restaurant, Koh Hansu appears and urges Sonja and her friend Kyunghee to leave Osaka and go to a safe place he knows, the Tamaguci farm in the country. He tells them that the Americans are going to bomb Osaka. Kyunghee cannot convince her husband Yoseb to go since he has been offered a job as a foreman in a steel factory in Nagasaki. The women take Sonja’s two boys with them and reach safety. The Americans bomb Nagasaki. Yoseb survives the bombing but never recovers his health.
After World War II, Korea is split up by the Americans, Russians and Chinese. Even the Japanese take over some areas. The Koreans still suffer from the foreign powers’ takeover of their country.
In the 1950s, Mosazu, Sonja and Baek Isak’s son, is hired as a guard at a pachinko parlor. Mosazu works hard in order to pay Yoseb’s medical bills, food, and rent. He also wants to help his half brother Noa go to Waseda University to major in English literature. Without asking permission, Koh Hansu steps in and pays Noa’s tuition, room and board. Noa is doing well, but when his girlfriend, Aikido comes uninvited to lunch with his father and tells Noa that his father is a mobster, he confronts his mother, drops out of school and disappears.
Koh Hansu tracks his son down. He finds that Noa works in a pachinko parlor and is doing well. Noa even has a Japanese wife and 4 children. Noa’s employer and his wife and children think Noa is 100 percent Japanese. Noa does not want anyone to find out that he has Korean blood. Sadly, after Hansu takes Sunja to see her son, Noa commits suicide after she leaves.
The book goes on at length into the 1970s. Racism and stereotypes of Koreans are clearly and painfully presented. Male dominance over women is blatantly apparent, as well. It is a long book but worth reading. For the most part, aside from rather boring segment about Etsuko and Hana at the end of the book, I enjoyed the book and gained some understanding of Korean history. In the future, I would hope to read some nonfiction works to understand Korean history and culture more thoroughly.
Note: Why the name “Pachinko”? In Japan, Pachinko parlors were often associated with Koreans.. In the book, Sonja and Baek Isak’s son, Mozasu, worked in a pachinko parlor for Goro-san as a guard and then became the general manager of Paradaisu Seven. He ended up a multi-millionaire and owner of multiple pachinko parlors. Noa, Sonja and Koh Hansu’s son, also worked at a pachinko parlor. There were other references to pachinko parlors, as well.
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ilikegoodlit
1.0 out of 5 stars Too trashyReviewed in the United States on June 17, 2018
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Such a disappointment. It started out good and then got so trashy. I liked the characters in the beginning and then was so disappointed in how the whole story ended and how the characters disintegrated. Honestly, I get awfully sick of the "f" word after about the 10th time and this author used at least 50 times. It was a waste of my time and money!
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================
Pachinko
by
4.28 · Rating details · 243,467 ratings · 24,023 reviews
In the early 1900s, teenaged Sunja, the adored daughter of a crippled fisherman, falls for a wealthy stranger at the seashore near her home in Korea. He promises her the world, but when she discovers she is pregnant — and that her lover is married — she refuses to be bought. Instead, she accepts an offer of marriage from a gentle, sickly minister passing through on his way ...more
Kindle Edition, 496 pages
Published February 7th 2017 by Grand Central Publishing
Original Title
Pachinko
Edition Language
English
Characters
Setting
Literary Awards
| Shelves | japan, read | |
| Status | September 1, 2018 – Shelved (Kindle Edition) September 1, 2018 – Shelved as: japan (Kindle Edition) | |
| Notes | ||
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Mar 24, 2017Maxwell rated it it was ok · review of another edition
Alright, after thinking about this one for the last 24 hours or so, I think I've figured out how to articulate what I didn't like about it.
But first I want to start with the stuff I did really enjoy. The book taught me a lot about the dynamic between Koreans & Japanese, especially in the early to mid-20th century. I had no idea about any of the historical context within which this book was set. And I found learning about it, especially as the author traced these themes and historical elements through the lives of her main characters, to be a fascinating experience and probably one of the most educational novels I've read in a while. The attention to detail was also excellent. I felt like the author created really grounded settings for the characters, and I enjoyed seeing how she moved the story forward with historical shifts and how that reflected in the fate of her characters' lives.
Alternatively, that same thing I enjoyed sort of ruined the experience for me. Because she covers SO much history and SO many characters—in, albeit, a quite lengthy book (nearly 500) pages—I never felt connected to anyone in particular. I thought it started out alright, picked up around page 80 and stayed strong for the remainder of that section. But then we jumped in time so much and through so many characters, that I never understood why I should care about them, only that they were related to previous characters. Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing does something similar, but her time period shifts are consistent and contained, and there is a more linear and clear understanding of how and why she is moving the story along in that way. With Pachinko we moved from character to character through the years with no real explanation as to why we are back with them. So I'm left wondering, "what about that other character? Where did they go? When will we see them again, if ever?"
And on top of that, she literally ends chapters or sections of the book with something along the lines of [not a real spoiler, just an example]: "And then he died." And we find out in the next chapter that 5 years have passed, we are seeing everything from some other characters perspective, all this stuff in their lives has changed, and the dead character is briefly mentioned and never returned to. I found it frustrating to follow, ultimately unsatisfying, and a sort of cheap way to tell a story. It's like she tried to inject all the drama of these big life events—pregnancies, death, runaway family members, etc.—without justifying or following through with any of it.
The writing style was very straight forward. It suited the story since overall it was a detached 3rd person telling the narrative of the generations of this family and their lives. But I didn't find the writing to be compelling enough to look forward to picking up the book. If I don't have either amazing characters or plot, I want really good writing, and this was just okay.
I know a ton of people have loved this book and given it 4 or 5 stars, but I just didn't feel that way about it. Maybe it was overhyped for me, and in combination with the things I've said above it just didn't affect me in the same way. But I'm glad others are enjoying it, and if you aren't bothered by those elements in a story you will probably really enjoy this. It definitely has a lot of stuff going on, is clearly well-researched and sweeping, but I felt like it didn't have enough of a thread to convince me to pull for it. It just ended up unraveling as it went along and I lost interest. (less)
But first I want to start with the stuff I did really enjoy. The book taught me a lot about the dynamic between Koreans & Japanese, especially in the early to mid-20th century. I had no idea about any of the historical context within which this book was set. And I found learning about it, especially as the author traced these themes and historical elements through the lives of her main characters, to be a fascinating experience and probably one of the most educational novels I've read in a while. The attention to detail was also excellent. I felt like the author created really grounded settings for the characters, and I enjoyed seeing how she moved the story forward with historical shifts and how that reflected in the fate of her characters' lives.
Alternatively, that same thing I enjoyed sort of ruined the experience for me. Because she covers SO much history and SO many characters—in, albeit, a quite lengthy book (nearly 500) pages—I never felt connected to anyone in particular. I thought it started out alright, picked up around page 80 and stayed strong for the remainder of that section. But then we jumped in time so much and through so many characters, that I never understood why I should care about them, only that they were related to previous characters. Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing does something similar, but her time period shifts are consistent and contained, and there is a more linear and clear understanding of how and why she is moving the story along in that way. With Pachinko we moved from character to character through the years with no real explanation as to why we are back with them. So I'm left wondering, "what about that other character? Where did they go? When will we see them again, if ever?"
And on top of that, she literally ends chapters or sections of the book with something along the lines of [not a real spoiler, just an example]: "And then he died." And we find out in the next chapter that 5 years have passed, we are seeing everything from some other characters perspective, all this stuff in their lives has changed, and the dead character is briefly mentioned and never returned to. I found it frustrating to follow, ultimately unsatisfying, and a sort of cheap way to tell a story. It's like she tried to inject all the drama of these big life events—pregnancies, death, runaway family members, etc.—without justifying or following through with any of it.
The writing style was very straight forward. It suited the story since overall it was a detached 3rd person telling the narrative of the generations of this family and their lives. But I didn't find the writing to be compelling enough to look forward to picking up the book. If I don't have either amazing characters or plot, I want really good writing, and this was just okay.
I know a ton of people have loved this book and given it 4 or 5 stars, but I just didn't feel that way about it. Maybe it was overhyped for me, and in combination with the things I've said above it just didn't affect me in the same way. But I'm glad others are enjoying it, and if you aren't bothered by those elements in a story you will probably really enjoy this. It definitely has a lot of stuff going on, is clearly well-researched and sweeping, but I felt like it didn't have enough of a thread to convince me to pull for it. It just ended up unraveling as it went along and I lost interest. (less)
Sep 06, 2017Emily May rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: historical, botm, 2017
History has failed us, but no matter.
Look, I get it. A lot of people won't be interested in this book because they have no idea what pachinko means and what exactly is going on with that cover, anyway? We are highly susceptible to marketing techniques and the cover and title give us pretty much nothing. But hear me out for a minute because this book is really good.
This is a historical family saga set in Korea and Japan throughout the 20th century. It follows four generations of a Korean family through the political turmoil of Japanese colonization, the hardship of wartimes, seeking a new and better life in Japan, and witnessing the home they left become divided into two countries they hardly recognize.
As someone who knows very little about Korean history, this book was absolutely fascinating. Rich, detailed characterization draws us into the lives of these people and, at least for me, teaches us a chapter of modern history we might not have been aware of.
Many Koreans found themselves forced to move to Japan to find jobs for their families, but they faced discrimination and disgusting living conditions when they arrived. Pachinko, we soon find out, is a kind of Japanese arcade game, and working in a pachinko parlor was considered a typical job for a Korean looking to get ahead. Many Japanese looked down upon pachinko parlor workers, viewing them as shady and dishonest - or just, you know, Korean.
And this is something Solomon must understand. We can be deported. We have no motherland. Life is full of things he cannot control so he must adapt. My boy has to survive.
It was both interesting and deeply saddening to hear about what these people went through, how easy it was for Koreans to be imprisoned indefinitely without trial. And after years of hardship and discrimination, after pushing through and finally earning enough money to have stability, many could never go back. Korean-Japanese (third, fourth, fifth generation even) were refused citizenship in Japan but most came from North Korea, a place they could no longer safely return to.
This is both a fictional and a true story. The fictional characters the author creates come sparking off the page - from the resilient Sunja who once foolishly believed in the love of an older man, to Noa who will never quite recover from the dishonor of his lineage, to Solomon who is still trying to escape the negative stereotypes associated with Koreans many years after his grandmother arrived in Japan. And it is a true story because much of this book was the reality for many Koreans.
A deeply affecting read and a look at an area of history oft-forgotten outside of East Asia.
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Jul 26, 2017Roxane rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
What a marvelous, deeply engrossing novel about four generations of a Korean family in Japan. There was a lot of story here and a lot of history (of which I was woefully ignorant) and it is all rendered in impeccable prose with a touch of steeliness. Toward the end of the novel, things started to feel a bit rushed, not enough time with the characters. And certain folks just fell away but such is the nature of a sprawling multi-generational novel. I read this in one day because I simply could not put it down. By far one of the best books I've read this year. (less)
Feb 25, 2017Jeanette rated it liked it · review of another edition
Just having finished this behemoth in the last hour, I want to put a disclaimer first. That reading this over a longer period of time than I would usually read a book, even of this length, probably made me MORE analytic than for my usual review. Or reaction. More critical. Because I truly wanted to give it a higher star value. I really did! But I cannot. So don't be scared away from reading it, because I am specific or amused for some of the tangents she took. Take it with a grain of salt. Especially if you are not the kind of reader that is bothered by vastly changing style of approach within one book. I am!
The first third of this book is nearly a 5 star perfection for character development, place reality, era feel, and boding wars of surround. In cultural mix and clash, in politico straining for the working day existence in Korea (Busan) under Japanese governmental domination.
Isak is a saint. His landlady and Sunja- they are sublime and so real. You know them as you have known a Scarlet O'Hara or a Dorothy in Kansas. I'll remember them. And those two married couples and their ultimate striving, movements and eventual Osaka, Japan bound lives. Leaving Korea and the death sentence that Christian belief insured. The world at war a mere background, but closer wars and constant work their every breath.
And then the second third of the book. The boys' stories. Hansu, yes- but mainly the boys' years of their growing up in Osaka. The Japanese defeat years within Japan with their Korean ethnicity. This is clear and yet convoluted. Not linear and direct as the first part. But yet, it is 4 star in the friends of each, the characters of mentoring, the parents and the Aunties' core purposes. The differences of languages and custom and most of all- for association and work. It's a good wider tale, and well done, kept my interest. Which gives out eventually in this parsing for a wider look at Osaka and the upcoming Pachinko connections for family support. Just a game in a parlor! But in doing so, the epic length and detail for this family is becoming broader, although shallower- much like a river near its delta- it's becoming defused and silt laden. The pure core of clearness for the first Korean situation is getting more progressively lost.
And then the last third of the book from the late 1960's onward to its conclusion! This is barely a 2.5 star read. It jumps. Relationship and context become abrupt. Many tangent issues of intersect to the story become sketchy. Is this new character or that one introduced to merely become an example for a group label or thesis issue? We find none of the individual character self-realizations or deep core connection coming from text connotation or the visuals (as went so beautifully within the first third of the book). But instead any clarity, if any, is coming from conversations of the bemoaning failure or nasty hanger on. Dialog becomes harsh. Style is jagged and changes abruptly as well. Description quickly becoming 10 pages of angst or venting conversation for a character who is then "dealt out" of the context or continuation of this plotting within a mere 3 lines somewhere in the next chapter? Huh!
Whatever was the style causation for this last third of the book- it was a mistake. She had too much to say? The grandchildren's stories should have been a separate book. The great-grandson's with the ultimate Phoebe dichotomy QUESTION of vast location decision for identity of placement- the crux pivot. This decision on where to live FOR that identity of the individual- quite another whole book. That last would have made a great story if she would have followed the style of nuance and purity for those first 2 couples who lived within Busan and knew who they were. That one could have potential to be superb. Not added within 3 paragraphs, or as an afterthought for a partial closure.
So- how do you judge this book? Not in 40 words, that's for sure.
I enjoyed the first half much more than the last. But I did read every word and read this slowly. There was an absolute intrigue for me- to answer a question "to or for" myself about how these people would "self-describe". Are they Korean? Are they Japanese. They hold passports from South Korea, even those who have never been there. And getting Japanese citizenship? Well, you decide if that is a realistic possibility. Japanese want to be "the same" at their very cores- difference can and does equate to unmannerly and "wrong".
As much as I did enjoy the factual minutia of these times and places, and the mix of modes and fads displayed by those who lived them. I also became quite aware that this essentially, in the last 50 or 60 pages of the book- holds a very anti-Japanese animus. Which became more and more openly revealed. I would say it is a prejudice, just as equal to the one the Japanese held for Noa.
So I can only give it 3 stars. It's a tremendous effort. Places and characters here are often superbly detailed. Min Jin Lee just bit off far more than she could chew, IMHO. Trying to get every victim or condition "label" issued for a human being since the middle of the last century into some action or subplot was also not a wise move. (less)
The first third of this book is nearly a 5 star perfection for character development, place reality, era feel, and boding wars of surround. In cultural mix and clash, in politico straining for the working day existence in Korea (Busan) under Japanese governmental domination.
Isak is a saint. His landlady and Sunja- they are sublime and so real. You know them as you have known a Scarlet O'Hara or a Dorothy in Kansas. I'll remember them. And those two married couples and their ultimate striving, movements and eventual Osaka, Japan bound lives. Leaving Korea and the death sentence that Christian belief insured. The world at war a mere background, but closer wars and constant work their every breath.
And then the second third of the book. The boys' stories. Hansu, yes- but mainly the boys' years of their growing up in Osaka. The Japanese defeat years within Japan with their Korean ethnicity. This is clear and yet convoluted. Not linear and direct as the first part. But yet, it is 4 star in the friends of each, the characters of mentoring, the parents and the Aunties' core purposes. The differences of languages and custom and most of all- for association and work. It's a good wider tale, and well done, kept my interest. Which gives out eventually in this parsing for a wider look at Osaka and the upcoming Pachinko connections for family support. Just a game in a parlor! But in doing so, the epic length and detail for this family is becoming broader, although shallower- much like a river near its delta- it's becoming defused and silt laden. The pure core of clearness for the first Korean situation is getting more progressively lost.
And then the last third of the book from the late 1960's onward to its conclusion! This is barely a 2.5 star read. It jumps. Relationship and context become abrupt. Many tangent issues of intersect to the story become sketchy. Is this new character or that one introduced to merely become an example for a group label or thesis issue? We find none of the individual character self-realizations or deep core connection coming from text connotation or the visuals (as went so beautifully within the first third of the book). But instead any clarity, if any, is coming from conversations of the bemoaning failure or nasty hanger on. Dialog becomes harsh. Style is jagged and changes abruptly as well. Description quickly becoming 10 pages of angst or venting conversation for a character who is then "dealt out" of the context or continuation of this plotting within a mere 3 lines somewhere in the next chapter? Huh!
Whatever was the style causation for this last third of the book- it was a mistake. She had too much to say? The grandchildren's stories should have been a separate book. The great-grandson's with the ultimate Phoebe dichotomy QUESTION of vast location decision for identity of placement- the crux pivot. This decision on where to live FOR that identity of the individual- quite another whole book. That last would have made a great story if she would have followed the style of nuance and purity for those first 2 couples who lived within Busan and knew who they were. That one could have potential to be superb. Not added within 3 paragraphs, or as an afterthought for a partial closure.
So- how do you judge this book? Not in 40 words, that's for sure.
I enjoyed the first half much more than the last. But I did read every word and read this slowly. There was an absolute intrigue for me- to answer a question "to or for" myself about how these people would "self-describe". Are they Korean? Are they Japanese. They hold passports from South Korea, even those who have never been there. And getting Japanese citizenship? Well, you decide if that is a realistic possibility. Japanese want to be "the same" at their very cores- difference can and does equate to unmannerly and "wrong".
As much as I did enjoy the factual minutia of these times and places, and the mix of modes and fads displayed by those who lived them. I also became quite aware that this essentially, in the last 50 or 60 pages of the book- holds a very anti-Japanese animus. Which became more and more openly revealed. I would say it is a prejudice, just as equal to the one the Japanese held for Noa.
So I can only give it 3 stars. It's a tremendous effort. Places and characters here are often superbly detailed. Min Jin Lee just bit off far more than she could chew, IMHO. Trying to get every victim or condition "label" issued for a human being since the middle of the last century into some action or subplot was also not a wise move. (less)
Apr 11, 2017Elyse Walters rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: historical-fiction, literary-fiction, asia, family-relationships
A very enjoyable lengthy historical fiction! *A Jewel*!!!!!
Some days Sunja, daughter of the owner of a boardinghouse in Korea, felt chills when she was growing her secret child. If she had agreed to remain the mistress of the rich man in Japan whom she got pregnant with - who was married with 3 children -- she could have been taken care of - and the needs for her child would be met. However - Sunja couldn't agree to the arrangement. She couldn't imagine sharing her life with a man who has another wife & family.
Another boarder, Isak, offers to marry Sunja and raise her unborn child as his own.
After conversations they have - including sharing with Sunja's mother wanting her blessing--Sunja concludes Isak is not a fool as her mother feared at first - but an angel.
Isak had one request. He believed strongly in his Korean Christian faith. Isak and Sunja traveled to Japan where they would live. Isak was going to become the new young pastor in Japan. As Korean immigrants in Japan - Sunja, Isak and their young child, Noa, face challenges living in Japan. Koreans are discriminated against by the local Japanese. It's not easy to be a pastors wife. Korean's must be on their BEST BEHAVIOR. "One bad KOREAN RUINS IT FOR THOUSANDS EVERYWHERE and one bad Christian hurts tens of thousands of Christians everywhere". Christianity in Japan is among the nations minority religions.
Sunja had to be PERFECT..... always on her best behavior. Being Korean, Christian Faith, and a pastor's wife.... she had three strikes against her from the start of 'becoming' a mother living in Japan.
Once in Japan, the family faced many struggles - hard to find work was a major concern....fears of how to get by financially. They were living in poverty, racism, ....but what was really sad to me was the stress that grew 'within' the family... as the family grew --in years and in numbers.
To me -- there are two stories going on - side by side: A political-historical story between the cultures - and relations between Korean and Japan from the early 1900's to the present day --- focusing especially on the period when Korea was under the Japanese occupation. I have a theory why many people don't know much about this history. It's my personal thoughts that one of the reasons American's know so little -- is that Pearl Harbor came shortly after this time --and it seems to me that wars prior that time - just before - were in the shadows - forgotten about in history. The Rape of Nanking is another example of a long forgotten period of history -- when the Japanese invaded China in the early 1930s.
The other story going on in Pachinko -- is the personal family story. The 'blurp' to this book says it best: "One Korean family through the generations, beginning in early 1900s Korea. "A sweeping saga of an exceptional family in exile from its homeland and caught in the indifferent arc of history".
"Members are bound together by deep roots as they face enduring questions of faith, family, and identity". I really cannot express this novel any better......
unless I begin to give spoilers .....
For those who read it--- am I the only person left with questions about Noa?
Its my opinion that this book is best read when you have a long weekend. Best to curl up and spend long days reading - get swept away. The writing is lush --gorgeous- -
Min Jin Lee has written a sublime line soap opera about the ways in which people treat one another ---abandon and save one another. There is a message of hope and love.
Beautiful! (less)
Some days Sunja, daughter of the owner of a boardinghouse in Korea, felt chills when she was growing her secret child. If she had agreed to remain the mistress of the rich man in Japan whom she got pregnant with - who was married with 3 children -- she could have been taken care of - and the needs for her child would be met. However - Sunja couldn't agree to the arrangement. She couldn't imagine sharing her life with a man who has another wife & family.
Another boarder, Isak, offers to marry Sunja and raise her unborn child as his own.
After conversations they have - including sharing with Sunja's mother wanting her blessing--Sunja concludes Isak is not a fool as her mother feared at first - but an angel.
Isak had one request. He believed strongly in his Korean Christian faith. Isak and Sunja traveled to Japan where they would live. Isak was going to become the new young pastor in Japan. As Korean immigrants in Japan - Sunja, Isak and their young child, Noa, face challenges living in Japan. Koreans are discriminated against by the local Japanese. It's not easy to be a pastors wife. Korean's must be on their BEST BEHAVIOR. "One bad KOREAN RUINS IT FOR THOUSANDS EVERYWHERE and one bad Christian hurts tens of thousands of Christians everywhere". Christianity in Japan is among the nations minority religions.
Sunja had to be PERFECT..... always on her best behavior. Being Korean, Christian Faith, and a pastor's wife.... she had three strikes against her from the start of 'becoming' a mother living in Japan.
Once in Japan, the family faced many struggles - hard to find work was a major concern....fears of how to get by financially. They were living in poverty, racism, ....but what was really sad to me was the stress that grew 'within' the family... as the family grew --in years and in numbers.
To me -- there are two stories going on - side by side: A political-historical story between the cultures - and relations between Korean and Japan from the early 1900's to the present day --- focusing especially on the period when Korea was under the Japanese occupation. I have a theory why many people don't know much about this history. It's my personal thoughts that one of the reasons American's know so little -- is that Pearl Harbor came shortly after this time --and it seems to me that wars prior that time - just before - were in the shadows - forgotten about in history. The Rape of Nanking is another example of a long forgotten period of history -- when the Japanese invaded China in the early 1930s.
The other story going on in Pachinko -- is the personal family story. The 'blurp' to this book says it best: "One Korean family through the generations, beginning in early 1900s Korea. "A sweeping saga of an exceptional family in exile from its homeland and caught in the indifferent arc of history".
"Members are bound together by deep roots as they face enduring questions of faith, family, and identity". I really cannot express this novel any better......
unless I begin to give spoilers .....
For those who read it--- am I the only person left with questions about Noa?
Its my opinion that this book is best read when you have a long weekend. Best to curl up and spend long days reading - get swept away. The writing is lush --gorgeous- -
Min Jin Lee has written a sublime line soap opera about the ways in which people treat one another ---abandon and save one another. There is a message of hope and love.
Beautiful! (less)
Feb 12, 2017Thomas rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: historical-fiction, five-stars, favorites, own-physical
One of the most brilliant and heartbreaking books I have ever read, I would like to thank Min Jin Lee for writing Pachinko and starting my 2018 with this splendid saga. Pachinko follows four generations of a Korean family who move to Japan amidst Japanese colonization and political warfare. The novel starts with Sunja, the beloved daughter of a poor yet well-respected family, whose unplanned pregnancy has the potential to bring great shame upon her life. After she learns that the baby's father already has a wife, she refuses to stay with him and instead marries a sickly and kind minister who moves with her to Japan. Throughout the novel we see the consequences of this choice, both through the joys of this family as they support and survive with one another, as well as the challenges and losses they experience as Korean immigrants in an unforgiving new country.
I feel so humbled and impressed by how Lee intertwines the personal and the political in Pachinko. She develops characters with deep emotions and complex yet clear motivations. She then shows how these characters' lives are impacted by issues such as racism and xenophobia, classism and gender discrimination, body image and intergenerational trauma, and more. Lee pulls this style of writing off so well because she captures, with elegant and straightforward prose, how these oftentimes abstract concepts directly affect her characters. We see how Sunja fights in every way possible to ensure a good life for her children even in the face of consistent barriers related to her gender. We see how Noa struggles to reclaim his identity after a blinding betrayal in a country that devalues Korean individuals. We see how all of these characters' love for one another is tested by history and the forces of prejudice, discrimination, and disenfranchisement. Lee writes the most captivating scenes, introspections, and dialogue that reveal her characters' hearts even when the world around them contains so much chaos.
I also want to commend Lee for the resilience she imbues her characters with. Despite the persistent sexism and racism they experience, Lee shows how the perseverance of women, the strength within female friendships, and the power of individual action all can create and maintain love within a messed up society. She does not minimize or glorify the suffering her characters face. Rather, with compassion and empathy, she reveals how her characters adapt and strive to thrive and love one another amidst all of their hardships. In the acknowledgements section of the book, Lee shares that this story has been with her for almost 30 years. I can see all that time within these pages, as the love and effort she has poured into this book and its multiple drafts comes across clear as day.
Overall, a fantastic novel I would recommend to everyone. I could write multiple essays about different parts of this book (e.g., the role and economic implications of pachinko parlors, the tenacity of women and female friendships, the intergenerational transmission of trauma and social status, etc.) but I will just say that a book club could discuss this one for hours and hours. As a second generation Vietnamese American living in the United States, I have felt so inspired by Lee's book to think about my family's many sacrifices coming to the United States, as well as the ways I have coped with and adapted to various forms of racism and colonization. I am excited to see what other reads 2018 brings, and I already know Pachinko will stand as one of my favorites. (less)
I feel so humbled and impressed by how Lee intertwines the personal and the political in Pachinko. She develops characters with deep emotions and complex yet clear motivations. She then shows how these characters' lives are impacted by issues such as racism and xenophobia, classism and gender discrimination, body image and intergenerational trauma, and more. Lee pulls this style of writing off so well because she captures, with elegant and straightforward prose, how these oftentimes abstract concepts directly affect her characters. We see how Sunja fights in every way possible to ensure a good life for her children even in the face of consistent barriers related to her gender. We see how Noa struggles to reclaim his identity after a blinding betrayal in a country that devalues Korean individuals. We see how all of these characters' love for one another is tested by history and the forces of prejudice, discrimination, and disenfranchisement. Lee writes the most captivating scenes, introspections, and dialogue that reveal her characters' hearts even when the world around them contains so much chaos.
I also want to commend Lee for the resilience she imbues her characters with. Despite the persistent sexism and racism they experience, Lee shows how the perseverance of women, the strength within female friendships, and the power of individual action all can create and maintain love within a messed up society. She does not minimize or glorify the suffering her characters face. Rather, with compassion and empathy, she reveals how her characters adapt and strive to thrive and love one another amidst all of their hardships. In the acknowledgements section of the book, Lee shares that this story has been with her for almost 30 years. I can see all that time within these pages, as the love and effort she has poured into this book and its multiple drafts comes across clear as day.
Overall, a fantastic novel I would recommend to everyone. I could write multiple essays about different parts of this book (e.g., the role and economic implications of pachinko parlors, the tenacity of women and female friendships, the intergenerational transmission of trauma and social status, etc.) but I will just say that a book club could discuss this one for hours and hours. As a second generation Vietnamese American living in the United States, I have felt so inspired by Lee's book to think about my family's many sacrifices coming to the United States, as well as the ways I have coped with and adapted to various forms of racism and colonization. I am excited to see what other reads 2018 brings, and I already know Pachinko will stand as one of my favorites. (less)
One of the things I like about reading well written historical fiction is that it can take me to another time and place and can be a profound learning experience. I knew close to nothing about the Japanese occupation of Korea from 1910 through WWII. Last year I read Tiger Pelt which introduced me to this time in Korea which was horrific in so many ways for the Koreans. While this novel begins in a village in Korea, most of the story takes place in various places in Japan, but this is a Korean story about four generations of a family spanning decades. I found myself easily engaged because I was so taken with the strength of this family who are living a difficult life of hard work, barely keeping a roof over their heads and meager food on the table. Hoonie, a young man with physical disabilities finds happiness in an arranged marriage to Yanglin. A daughter, Sunja is born bringing joy, then heartache. It is Sunja's story that takes us to Japan and expands into a family saga of her children and their children.
So many things are depicted here - family bonds and love that moved me to tears at times, the discrimination of Koreans, even those born in Japan, culture and religion, identity, not just based on your birth place but who your family is . While this is about that experience of Koreans in that time and place, it is ultimately about good, honest, caring people who manage to move through their lives as they deal with the things that life hands out to everyone including illness, death, disappointments.
I was curious about the meaning of the title. What does Pachinko mean? "Pachinko (パチンコ?) is a type of mechanical game originating in Japan and is used as both a form of recreational arcade game and much more frequently as a gambling device, filling a Japanese gambling niche comparable to that of the slot machine in Western gaming." (Wikipedia) It becomes clear in the novel what Pachinko is to this family as it becomes a business some of the characters are in. More than that, I saw it as a metaphor for so much of what happens. Every decision made by the characters is taking a chance, a chance that they hope will move them forward, will give them a good life in spite of the hard things they endure. Isn't that what most of us do? This is a long novel and while the last part was not as gripping to me as the first two thirds, I recommend you take a chance on it.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Grand Central Publishing through NetGalley. (less)
So many things are depicted here - family bonds and love that moved me to tears at times, the discrimination of Koreans, even those born in Japan, culture and religion, identity, not just based on your birth place but who your family is . While this is about that experience of Koreans in that time and place, it is ultimately about good, honest, caring people who manage to move through their lives as they deal with the things that life hands out to everyone including illness, death, disappointments.
I was curious about the meaning of the title. What does Pachinko mean? "Pachinko (パチンコ?) is a type of mechanical game originating in Japan and is used as both a form of recreational arcade game and much more frequently as a gambling device, filling a Japanese gambling niche comparable to that of the slot machine in Western gaming." (Wikipedia) It becomes clear in the novel what Pachinko is to this family as it becomes a business some of the characters are in. More than that, I saw it as a metaphor for so much of what happens. Every decision made by the characters is taking a chance, a chance that they hope will move them forward, will give them a good life in spite of the hard things they endure. Isn't that what most of us do? This is a long novel and while the last part was not as gripping to me as the first two thirds, I recommend you take a chance on it.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Grand Central Publishing through NetGalley. (less)
Apr 15, 2019jessica rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
‘living every day in the presence of those who refuse to acknowledge your humanity takes great courage.’
wow. i am speechless. this story is a bittersweet portrait of family, the sacrifices that must be made for those we love, and the resilience to see through the outcomes of our choices. i am so moved by this story.
across four generations, two opposing nations, war and constant struggle, a family lived. a family lost. a family learned. and a family loved. min jin lee has so beautifully, and somewhat painfully, crafted a novel that has taught me so much. through their intertwining personal and political circumstances, i have come to care for this family.
i know that many readers could not get attached to the writing style of this book, but all i could see was the intention. there is so much purpose behind every word, every sentence. i thought the straightforward nature of the writing was needed. there is no sugarcoating the trials koreans faced in japan, and so i appreciate lee for her candid writing.
there is so much that can unpacked and dissected about this story, but i just cant get over how heartbroken i am. this is a definite must read!
↠ 4.5 stars (less)
wow. i am speechless. this story is a bittersweet portrait of family, the sacrifices that must be made for those we love, and the resilience to see through the outcomes of our choices. i am so moved by this story.
across four generations, two opposing nations, war and constant struggle, a family lived. a family lost. a family learned. and a family loved. min jin lee has so beautifully, and somewhat painfully, crafted a novel that has taught me so much. through their intertwining personal and political circumstances, i have come to care for this family.
i know that many readers could not get attached to the writing style of this book, but all i could see was the intention. there is so much purpose behind every word, every sentence. i thought the straightforward nature of the writing was needed. there is no sugarcoating the trials koreans faced in japan, and so i appreciate lee for her candid writing.
there is so much that can unpacked and dissected about this story, but i just cant get over how heartbroken i am. this is a definite must read!
↠ 4.5 stars (less)
Mar 23, 2018Barry Pierce rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: 21st-century, read-in-2018
In the sweeping and monolithic Pachinko, Min Jin Lee documents four generations of a Korean family in Japan from 1910 to 1989. First conceived in 1989, Lee worked on this novel for over 25 years and what a masterpiece she has to show for all her work. Only really comparable in scope to Zola's Rougon-Macquart cycle, Pachinko is an education as well as a flawlessly crafted story. It theorises on an ugly aspect of Japanese society and the people who struggle against this open prejudice.
What I know ...more
What I know ...more
Despite this being a 480 pg mini brick of a book, I absolutely flew through Pachinko on two commutes and a night. It's a sweeping, multi-generational epic of a Korean family, and we follow their collective and individual rises and falls, triumphs and failures, in 19010 - 1930 in Korea under Japanese occupation, and in Japan from 1930 - 1989 as expatriates and Zainichi Koreans. The characters are memorable, well-drawn, and their circumstances and hurdles extremely compelling, from family shame of out of wedlock pregnancy to hunger and pride and war-time privations. Min Jin Lee does a phenomenal job of weaving the stories of the individuals of the Baek/Bando family within the larger Korean immigrant experience in Japan and commenting on their social and political exclusion and discrimination, all the while tying it together with beautiful, descriptive prose that pulled me in and kept me turning the pages faster and faster. I was eager to learn more and follow these family members further, but I also wanted to the story to go on as long as possible. It's ambitious, and Lee pulls it off masterly in my opinion. Four stars from me: not an instant classic I'll put on my immediate re-read list, but I wouldn't be surprised if I do pick it up again in the years to come.
There are so many great ideas floating throughout - what makes a nation? where is home? who is your family and what lines of loyalty do you follow? to pass, or to be defiantly (or shamefully) what one is? shame versus forgiveness - but Lee never hits these ideas over the head explicitly: they come to life in the thoughts, actions, and dialogue of the characters, softly and subtly at times but ultimately unmistakable. There's a lot to unpack on an intellectual level, and though I knew some things about the Japanese occupation and horrifying sexual slavery of Korean (and other occupied Asian) women as wartime "comfort women" and other pieces of the complex, complicated Japan-Korea historical relationship that only in recent years is beginning to fully normalize, I was consistently learning new ideas and words and concepts I'd never heard of prior, but these were introduced well and explained within the context of the story, so I hoovered up the information easily and eagerly.
It's the family that provides the emotional push to read. I found Lee's style to change slightly as the setting and time period change, from beautiful but simple, quiet prose during the 1910 - 1930 portion on the little, provincial island of Yeong-do in Korea, to maintaining its beauty but upping the punch and zip as the family changes location to Japan and enters the modern era, with the eerie, looming mood of pre and during WWII giving way to a slightly more upbeat and fresh tone with the family's bettered circumstances in 1950 - 1989, but tempered by their Korean background and outsider, unwanted status in Japan. The simple kindness of Hoonie whom kicks off the family but we never get to know well, and his strong, smart wife Yangjin; the quiet grace and devotion of Kyunghee and her husband Yoseb's evolution from man of strength and shame to fraility and greater shame; the endurance and resolution of Sunja, the engimatic, sometimes villianous but also pitiable Koh Hansu, the Christian paragon and family renewer Isak; the goodhearted, bold Mozasu as a foil to his studious, solemn half-brother Noa and their comparative experiences of passing in Japan and how they experience and internalize shame (for different familial reasons in addition to their shared Korean heritage)... the Baek/Bandos are a layered, loving bunch with some difficult relationships between them but all sharing a passion to succeed, to carve out a home and a family, to be an example (most of the time) of good, hardworking Koreans in Japan, to transcend their marginalization and be seen, be worthy.
I would heartily recommend this to lovers of family and historical epics of varying lengths, lovers of beautiful but easy reading prose and where lots of plot and events are occurring but the writing is calm so you don't feel overwhelmed by the action, and those with an interest in Japanese and Korean-set historical fiction and really getting a painless education into a complex political and cultural connection. (less)
There are so many great ideas floating throughout - what makes a nation? where is home? who is your family and what lines of loyalty do you follow? to pass, or to be defiantly (or shamefully) what one is? shame versus forgiveness - but Lee never hits these ideas over the head explicitly: they come to life in the thoughts, actions, and dialogue of the characters, softly and subtly at times but ultimately unmistakable. There's a lot to unpack on an intellectual level, and though I knew some things about the Japanese occupation and horrifying sexual slavery of Korean (and other occupied Asian) women as wartime "comfort women" and other pieces of the complex, complicated Japan-Korea historical relationship that only in recent years is beginning to fully normalize, I was consistently learning new ideas and words and concepts I'd never heard of prior, but these were introduced well and explained within the context of the story, so I hoovered up the information easily and eagerly.
It's the family that provides the emotional push to read. I found Lee's style to change slightly as the setting and time period change, from beautiful but simple, quiet prose during the 1910 - 1930 portion on the little, provincial island of Yeong-do in Korea, to maintaining its beauty but upping the punch and zip as the family changes location to Japan and enters the modern era, with the eerie, looming mood of pre and during WWII giving way to a slightly more upbeat and fresh tone with the family's bettered circumstances in 1950 - 1989, but tempered by their Korean background and outsider, unwanted status in Japan. The simple kindness of Hoonie whom kicks off the family but we never get to know well, and his strong, smart wife Yangjin; the quiet grace and devotion of Kyunghee and her husband Yoseb's evolution from man of strength and shame to fraility and greater shame; the endurance and resolution of Sunja, the engimatic, sometimes villianous but also pitiable Koh Hansu, the Christian paragon and family renewer Isak; the goodhearted, bold Mozasu as a foil to his studious, solemn half-brother Noa and their comparative experiences of passing in Japan and how they experience and internalize shame (for different familial reasons in addition to their shared Korean heritage)... the Baek/Bandos are a layered, loving bunch with some difficult relationships between them but all sharing a passion to succeed, to carve out a home and a family, to be an example (most of the time) of good, hardworking Koreans in Japan, to transcend their marginalization and be seen, be worthy.
I would heartily recommend this to lovers of family and historical epics of varying lengths, lovers of beautiful but easy reading prose and where lots of plot and events are occurring but the writing is calm so you don't feel overwhelmed by the action, and those with an interest in Japanese and Korean-set historical fiction and really getting a painless education into a complex political and cultural connection. (less)
Apr 09, 2018Candi rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: historical-fiction, asia
"… there could only be a few winners and a lot of losers. And yet we played on, because we had hope that we might be the lucky ones. How could you get angry at the ones who wanted to be in the game?... Pachinko was a foolish game, but life was not."
I hadn’t really understood exactly what pachinko was before reading this novel. This book and Wikipedia have educated me on the topic. The way I envision pachinko is as a cross between a pinball machine and a slot machine. It’s a gambling game, where the odds may be fixed and the results controlled by outside hands rather than by those actually operating the handle. But folks will return again and again and spend hours in front of this parlor game with the hope of winning the big one. Pachinko can also be likened to the lives of the numerous characters that populate this generational family saga and historical fiction novel. They make choices, they pull the lever if you will, sometimes controlling what happens to them, but very often affected by the outside influences of others, especially those with more power. Some of the characters in this book work for or run pachinko parlors, but the reader spends very little time in these gaming facilities –I would have been running in the other direction otherwise!
What this book does provide us with is a rich story about a family that finds its roots in Korea during the early 1900s and straight through to late 1980s Japan. I love learning about countries and cultures of which I know nothing or very little. This book did not disappoint in that aspect. Much of this is heartbreaking, frustrating, and even maddening – due to the multiple injustices suffered by this Korean family both in their home country under colonial rule by Japan, as well as in Japan where they emigrated in search of more opportunities, safety and security. What they often found there was hatred and racial prejudices. They faced identity crises that some were able to rise above and others were not fortunate enough to overcome. I didn’t realize that the Korean people that moved to Japan during those years suffered to such an outrageous and unbearable extent. They were often discriminated against in the workplace, receiving lower wages than their Japanese counterparts. They were called names, considered lazy, even referred to frequently as criminals. Their living conditions were run-down. Children were bullied in their schools. The only alternative to these conditions seemed to be to return to Korea – but this means of escape was even worse following World War II with the widespread starvation and the introduction of communism in the north. So, the family remained in Japan and made a life, despite the oppression and limitations they faced.
This book was rather hefty, but I never tired of it. I did learn so much about the culture, the politics (though not heavy-handed), and a bit of the history of both Korea and Japan. There were many characters as the novel covers a lengthy span of time, but I never grew confused. I did feel a bit of a distancing from the characters themselves, and they were not quite multilayered enough. I savor wonderfully complex characters. One character, a young man named Noa, may have fit the bill here, but a couple more multidimensional individuals may have enriched this aspect of the book a bit more for me personally. However, I did feel much sympathy towards many of the family; their struggles were real and quite believable. I most admired the women who fought so hard for their families, their children, and worked tirelessly to survive and make ends meet. They were resourceful and brave despite their very quiet and unobtrusive bearing. The last two-thirds to one-fourth of the novel felt a bit more rushed and I was slightly less invested in the storylines of these characters than I was in those initial players. However, I found this to be very well-written, educational and engaging so I can’t really give Pachinko less than 4 stars. Recommended if you are a fan of epic family stories, immigrant struggles, and/or historical fiction. I would be more than happy to read more of Min Jin Lee in the future.
"Living every day in the presence of those who refuse to acknowledge your humanity takes great courage." (less)
I hadn’t really understood exactly what pachinko was before reading this novel. This book and Wikipedia have educated me on the topic. The way I envision pachinko is as a cross between a pinball machine and a slot machine. It’s a gambling game, where the odds may be fixed and the results controlled by outside hands rather than by those actually operating the handle. But folks will return again and again and spend hours in front of this parlor game with the hope of winning the big one. Pachinko can also be likened to the lives of the numerous characters that populate this generational family saga and historical fiction novel. They make choices, they pull the lever if you will, sometimes controlling what happens to them, but very often affected by the outside influences of others, especially those with more power. Some of the characters in this book work for or run pachinko parlors, but the reader spends very little time in these gaming facilities –I would have been running in the other direction otherwise!
What this book does provide us with is a rich story about a family that finds its roots in Korea during the early 1900s and straight through to late 1980s Japan. I love learning about countries and cultures of which I know nothing or very little. This book did not disappoint in that aspect. Much of this is heartbreaking, frustrating, and even maddening – due to the multiple injustices suffered by this Korean family both in their home country under colonial rule by Japan, as well as in Japan where they emigrated in search of more opportunities, safety and security. What they often found there was hatred and racial prejudices. They faced identity crises that some were able to rise above and others were not fortunate enough to overcome. I didn’t realize that the Korean people that moved to Japan during those years suffered to such an outrageous and unbearable extent. They were often discriminated against in the workplace, receiving lower wages than their Japanese counterparts. They were called names, considered lazy, even referred to frequently as criminals. Their living conditions were run-down. Children were bullied in their schools. The only alternative to these conditions seemed to be to return to Korea – but this means of escape was even worse following World War II with the widespread starvation and the introduction of communism in the north. So, the family remained in Japan and made a life, despite the oppression and limitations they faced.
This book was rather hefty, but I never tired of it. I did learn so much about the culture, the politics (though not heavy-handed), and a bit of the history of both Korea and Japan. There were many characters as the novel covers a lengthy span of time, but I never grew confused. I did feel a bit of a distancing from the characters themselves, and they were not quite multilayered enough. I savor wonderfully complex characters. One character, a young man named Noa, may have fit the bill here, but a couple more multidimensional individuals may have enriched this aspect of the book a bit more for me personally. However, I did feel much sympathy towards many of the family; their struggles were real and quite believable. I most admired the women who fought so hard for their families, their children, and worked tirelessly to survive and make ends meet. They were resourceful and brave despite their very quiet and unobtrusive bearing. The last two-thirds to one-fourth of the novel felt a bit more rushed and I was slightly less invested in the storylines of these characters than I was in those initial players. However, I found this to be very well-written, educational and engaging so I can’t really give Pachinko less than 4 stars. Recommended if you are a fan of epic family stories, immigrant struggles, and/or historical fiction. I would be more than happy to read more of Min Jin Lee in the future.
"Living every day in the presence of those who refuse to acknowledge your humanity takes great courage." (less)
Apr 06, 2019Lucy Langford rated it really liked it · review of another edition
“Living everyday in the presence of those who refuse to acknowledge your humanity takes great courage.”
Wow! What a sweeping, beautiful and heartbreaking novel this was. An emotional read about exile, discrimination, identity and generational/cultural expectations. This book follows a four-generational family, originally from Korea, living in Japan.
It shows how our decisions can have an effect on many things in our future lives.
This book first takes place in Korea, 1911. It starts with a couple who have one child, their beloved daughter Sunja. When Sunja is enamored by a local yakuza: Hanku, she soon falls pregnant and unbeknownst to her, after the discovery of pregnancy, she learns that Hanku is already married and with his own children. Due to the highly placed value of female virginity in Korea, the family faces ruin from Sunja's pregnancy. But then a Christian minister offers a chance of salvation for the family: a new life in Japan as his wife.
To bring salvation to herself and to her family, Sunja follows the minister to Japan to live in a hostile country. Here she faces severe discrimination from the Japanese for being Korean. She moves to a country where she has no friends or home. The book then details her life and those of her family's over the generations.
This book details the tensions of being Korean in Japan and how this is maintained over generations. It shows a part of history that is not always mentioned and not that well known. While the character's struggle with their identity in a hostile country, it shows determination to persevere and endure.
(less)
Wow! What a sweeping, beautiful and heartbreaking novel this was. An emotional read about exile, discrimination, identity and generational/cultural expectations. This book follows a four-generational family, originally from Korea, living in Japan.
It shows how our decisions can have an effect on many things in our future lives.
This book first takes place in Korea, 1911. It starts with a couple who have one child, their beloved daughter Sunja. When Sunja is enamored by a local yakuza: Hanku, she soon falls pregnant and unbeknownst to her, after the discovery of pregnancy, she learns that Hanku is already married and with his own children. Due to the highly placed value of female virginity in Korea, the family faces ruin from Sunja's pregnancy. But then a Christian minister offers a chance of salvation for the family: a new life in Japan as his wife.
To bring salvation to herself and to her family, Sunja follows the minister to Japan to live in a hostile country. Here she faces severe discrimination from the Japanese for being Korean. She moves to a country where she has no friends or home. The book then details her life and those of her family's over the generations.
This book details the tensions of being Korean in Japan and how this is maintained over generations. It shows a part of history that is not always mentioned and not that well known. While the character's struggle with their identity in a hostile country, it shows determination to persevere and endure.
(less)
I had this in my TBR queue for ages. It took making it a book club selection to bring it to the front of the line. It’s described as an epic tale of generations of Koreans in Japan and epic truly describes it. I felt like I was reading one of James Michener’s sagas.
I loved Sunja. She is just so strong. She’s not only part of the underclass, but a woman to boot. She struggles but always finds a way to persevere.
There is nothing better than a well done historical fiction. This one fits the bill. I knew next to nothing about the Japanese annexation of Korea and the issues that followed. And I knew nothing about the Koreans that actually lived in Japan. I remember from WWII that Koreans were considered inferior by the Japanese. There are multiple points in this book when the way the Japanese treated the Koreans reminded me of how blacks were treated here in the US. The same prejudices. And the same belief by the underclass that they needed to be so much better to make it.
This is a long book but it’s a fast read. I got so engrossed with the story that the pages flew by. I found the first half of the book much more interesting than the second. As the number of characters increased, we learn less about each and I felt like there wasn’t the depth to anyone of them. It made it much harder to relate to anyone. I almost felt the book would have been stronger if it had ended sooner.
(less)
Mar 20, 2017David rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Told in chronological order, this book spans 4 generations and nearly a century of time and focuses on Zainichi or ethnic Koreans living in Japan. These Zainichi are essentially stateless citizens registered to Joseon or a unified Korea that hasn’t existed since the Korean War. Up until recently they had to apply for alien registration cards that required fingerprinting every three years and were rarely granted passports making overseas travel impossible. In Japan, ethnic Koreans are seen as second class citizens and even now are still shut out of higher positions.
We follow a Korean family struggling to survive in that environment. The language is plain and unadorned but wields tremendous emotional heft. There are parts that just destroyed me but it never descends into misery porn. And while it moves at a languid pace through time I could have happily stuck around for another 300 pages.
This is a beautiful story of family and notions of home that feel even more relevant in today’s political environment. It touches on aspects of passing, of not only surviving but succeeding in an adopted country that can be hostile to your very identity. Quite simply, I loved these characters and the book just blew me away. (less)
We follow a Korean family struggling to survive in that environment. The language is plain and unadorned but wields tremendous emotional heft. There are parts that just destroyed me but it never descends into misery porn. And while it moves at a languid pace through time I could have happily stuck around for another 300 pages.
This is a beautiful story of family and notions of home that feel even more relevant in today’s political environment. It touches on aspects of passing, of not only surviving but succeeding in an adopted country that can be hostile to your very identity. Quite simply, I loved these characters and the book just blew me away. (less)
A rich and vivid story spanning nearly 100 years from Korea at the start of the 20th century to pre-war Osaka and finally Tokyo and Yokohama.
Pachinko is a long novel that is beautifully crafted, elegant, passionate with characters that you find yourself rooting for and caring about while reading and will remember long after the novel has ended.
" A club footed, cleft-lipped man marries a fifteen year old girl. The couple have one child, their beloved daughter Sonja. When Sonja falls pregnant by a married yakuza the family face ruin. But a christian minister offers a chance of salvation, a new life in Japan as his wife."and Sunja's salvation is just the beginning of this sweeping saga.
There are many wonderfully imagined characters in this novel but the characters of Sonja and Kyunghee really brought this book to life and for me captures what it is to be a daughter, a mother, and a wife in any coulture. There was so many times these two woman near broke my heart in this story and I loved how strong and memorable they both these women were.
This is a story of what it means to be an outsider in a foreign country and the struggles that go with trying to fit in and yet trying to maintain and hold on to a little of the past and couture they were born into.
A real page turner, a story with a heart and soul, full of likable and dislikable characters that will have you hooked from page one and you will have difficulty parting with on finishing the novel
I came across this book while book browsing in a book store and overheard a lady ask the store assistant to recommend a multigenerational type book that would keep her attention over the christmas period and the assistment recomemmended Pachinko and after she gave a brief synopsis of the story I decided I had to have it too and this is why books stores and their staff are worth their weight in gold and we readers should tap into their book knowledge every time we visit a bookstore.
I recommend this to readers who enjoy multi generational novels, historical fiction or character driven novels. I think this would also make an excellent book club read as there is so much here to discuss. (less)
Pachinko is a long novel that is beautifully crafted, elegant, passionate with characters that you find yourself rooting for and caring about while reading and will remember long after the novel has ended.
" A club footed, cleft-lipped man marries a fifteen year old girl. The couple have one child, their beloved daughter Sonja. When Sonja falls pregnant by a married yakuza the family face ruin. But a christian minister offers a chance of salvation, a new life in Japan as his wife."and Sunja's salvation is just the beginning of this sweeping saga.
There are many wonderfully imagined characters in this novel but the characters of Sonja and Kyunghee really brought this book to life and for me captures what it is to be a daughter, a mother, and a wife in any coulture. There was so many times these two woman near broke my heart in this story and I loved how strong and memorable they both these women were.
This is a story of what it means to be an outsider in a foreign country and the struggles that go with trying to fit in and yet trying to maintain and hold on to a little of the past and couture they were born into.
A real page turner, a story with a heart and soul, full of likable and dislikable characters that will have you hooked from page one and you will have difficulty parting with on finishing the novel
I came across this book while book browsing in a book store and overheard a lady ask the store assistant to recommend a multigenerational type book that would keep her attention over the christmas period and the assistment recomemmended Pachinko and after she gave a brief synopsis of the story I decided I had to have it too and this is why books stores and their staff are worth their weight in gold and we readers should tap into their book knowledge every time we visit a bookstore.
I recommend this to readers who enjoy multi generational novels, historical fiction or character driven novels. I think this would also make an excellent book club read as there is so much here to discuss. (less)
“Living everyday in the presence of those who refuse to acknowledge your humanity takes great courage”
Why are there young Korean fathers who rather shoot themselves in the head, than their wife and children finding out that they are not Japanese?
Pachinko gambling casino in Japan
Min Jin Lee uses her novel to take us through four generations and eight decades of a Korean family, migrating to Japan. Today those immigrated Koreans are referred to as "Zainichi", a word that comes with discrimination and means "Japans residents". They are no more than tolerated, forced to take on a Japanese name and hope to not be deported. To live together with a Zainichi - a scandal. No one wants to hire them, but some become successful with gambling businesses, hosting Pachinko machines... people think about them as shifty, shady and dishonest.
We are introduced to the life of a girl named Sunja, starting in 1910 in a small fishing village in South Korea and follow her over seas to Osaka and 1989 to Yokohama. We are told about her daily struggle to survive, her north Korean man and her sons. Starting in the slums with child marriage and starvation, over to child labour and farm work during WWII, to a comfortable life in Japan.
Eight decades of development
The language Min Jin Lee uses is straightforward and plain, just as the life of the family she tells about, reduced to what is important. The atom bombing in Hiroshima und Nagasaki or the separation of Korea in South- and North, forcing Zainichi to decide to whom to belong, are merely mentioned. That seemed unfortunate to me, but might represent the microcosmos the women live in, without being able to read or write, barely able to speak Japanese, concentrated on themselves and focused on day to day life.
The role of the outsider in Pachinko
Sunjas grandson belongs to the first generation without the fear of war, of starving to death or being homeless. It‘s the first generation that has the space to raise questions of identity and struggles with the question on how to decide. Through his girlfiend we are introduced to knew characters - unfortunately not really smoothly- that reveal the discrepancies. Both are about the same age, have a university degree and their parents are Korean, but she was born in Seattle, not in Japan. She does‘t understand and the gap between them becomes visible. It takes time for the disattachment to sink in and for him to take a stand against the discrimination and to not just tolerate it.
Min Jin Lee
It‘s important to note that this is a work of historical fiction. The character Jin Lee created are fictionalized, while the historical timeline and the situation of Korean minorities in Japan are accurate. I tend to be rather suspicious about fiction that is very close to historical events, experiences or people‘s life, that didn‘t people experience themselves or have very specific and close insights into. I understand the charm of making history, diseases or any other kind of message come alive and more accessible and memorable, by using fiction. But it‘s also often inaccurate, which is why I tend to avoid it and choose biographies, memoirs, the report of real events or classics written during that time instead. However I‘m quite impressed by Lee‘s ability to guide us through multiple generations. She herself is from South Korea and migrated to New York when she was seven years old, but also lived in Tokyo for four years. Therefore I‘m sure that she has many insights to offer, that can guide us to further research and certainly exposes the emotional struggle belonging to migration.
"Stunning ... Pachinko is about outsiders, minorities and the politically disenfranchised. But it is so much more besides. Each time the novel seems to find its locus - Japan's colonization of Korea, World War II as experienced in East Asia, Christianity, family, love, the changing role of women - it becomes something else. It becomes even more than it was" - New York Times
Pachinko is relevant far beyond Japan and Korea, but relates to migration and immigration as a whole. It‘s a question of nationality, religion and identity and how those are linked together; of minorities, discrimination and hopefully emanzipation. (less)
Why are there young Korean fathers who rather shoot themselves in the head, than their wife and children finding out that they are not Japanese?
Pachinko gambling casino in JapanMin Jin Lee uses her novel to take us through four generations and eight decades of a Korean family, migrating to Japan. Today those immigrated Koreans are referred to as "Zainichi", a word that comes with discrimination and means "Japans residents". They are no more than tolerated, forced to take on a Japanese name and hope to not be deported. To live together with a Zainichi - a scandal. No one wants to hire them, but some become successful with gambling businesses, hosting Pachinko machines... people think about them as shifty, shady and dishonest.
We are introduced to the life of a girl named Sunja, starting in 1910 in a small fishing village in South Korea and follow her over seas to Osaka and 1989 to Yokohama. We are told about her daily struggle to survive, her north Korean man and her sons. Starting in the slums with child marriage and starvation, over to child labour and farm work during WWII, to a comfortable life in Japan.
Eight decades of developmentThe language Min Jin Lee uses is straightforward and plain, just as the life of the family she tells about, reduced to what is important. The atom bombing in Hiroshima und Nagasaki or the separation of Korea in South- and North, forcing Zainichi to decide to whom to belong, are merely mentioned. That seemed unfortunate to me, but might represent the microcosmos the women live in, without being able to read or write, barely able to speak Japanese, concentrated on themselves and focused on day to day life.
The role of the outsider in PachinkoSunjas grandson belongs to the first generation without the fear of war, of starving to death or being homeless. It‘s the first generation that has the space to raise questions of identity and struggles with the question on how to decide. Through his girlfiend we are introduced to knew characters - unfortunately not really smoothly- that reveal the discrepancies. Both are about the same age, have a university degree and their parents are Korean, but she was born in Seattle, not in Japan. She does‘t understand and the gap between them becomes visible. It takes time for the disattachment to sink in and for him to take a stand against the discrimination and to not just tolerate it.
Min Jin LeeIt‘s important to note that this is a work of historical fiction. The character Jin Lee created are fictionalized, while the historical timeline and the situation of Korean minorities in Japan are accurate. I tend to be rather suspicious about fiction that is very close to historical events, experiences or people‘s life, that didn‘t people experience themselves or have very specific and close insights into. I understand the charm of making history, diseases or any other kind of message come alive and more accessible and memorable, by using fiction. But it‘s also often inaccurate, which is why I tend to avoid it and choose biographies, memoirs, the report of real events or classics written during that time instead. However I‘m quite impressed by Lee‘s ability to guide us through multiple generations. She herself is from South Korea and migrated to New York when she was seven years old, but also lived in Tokyo for four years. Therefore I‘m sure that she has many insights to offer, that can guide us to further research and certainly exposes the emotional struggle belonging to migration.
"Stunning ... Pachinko is about outsiders, minorities and the politically disenfranchised. But it is so much more besides. Each time the novel seems to find its locus - Japan's colonization of Korea, World War II as experienced in East Asia, Christianity, family, love, the changing role of women - it becomes something else. It becomes even more than it was" - New York Times
Pachinko is relevant far beyond Japan and Korea, but relates to migration and immigration as a whole. It‘s a question of nationality, religion and identity and how those are linked together; of minorities, discrimination and hopefully emanzipation. (less)
Feb 20, 2018PorshaJo rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: audio, challengereads-2018, challengereads, culture-japanese
Rating 3.75
I had gone back and forth on reading this one. I would get it from the library and return it. But it was a National Book Award finalist, so it should be good. My library got the audio and I had to wait months to get it, so it should be good. It's historical fiction and I love that, so it should be good. Don't get me wrong, I liked it, but I had many issues with it.
Pachinko tells the story of several generations of one Korean family. You first start out, learning about this family and how they live in Korea. But then, due to war, they are moved to Japan. Eventually we learn of Sunja, a young peasant girl, the daughter of a poor family who runs a boarding house for fishermen. She becomes pregnant at a very early age, which is scandalous. But one of the boarders who knew of her father, marries her and takes her to Japan. You learn about her history and her children and children's children. This is one family sweeping saga that spans 70-80 years. You learn the strife of Koreans living in Japan, the racism that they faced, assimilating into Japanese culture, the customs and ways of the Japanese. That part I loved hearing about. I loved hearing about Korea and the food, it took me back to a trip that I had to Korea. Then, we switched to Japan, which I just adore. You learn of the Pachinko parlors as one family member runs. Oh the pachinko parlors, they were absolutely insane. Think Vegas amplified, with lots of wild colors, and high vibe atmosphere. I really enjoyed being able to think back to my time there. But the book was too long, it often jumped around. I really enjoyed learning about Sunja, her parents, and her children. But when her children, got older, it seemed to be all over the place. It cover many topics such as racism, war, strife, suicide, gay men, loose women, the Yakuza, AIDS, and more.
I think this book could have been trimmed down quite a bit. I was really loving it, thinking it might be a 5 star read, but then it seems to throw in so many topics, and some were glossed over, or I did not get the resolution I desired. The final 1/4 of the book was totally not needed and really drug the book down for me. I might have gone lower on my rating but I loved more than 2/3 of the book, I couldn't let that ending drag it down. Overall, glad I read this one. I ultimately picked it up for my Japanese reading challenge. Though focused on Koreans, much of the book takes place in Japan. So this was a perfect fit for the challenge. (less)
I had gone back and forth on reading this one. I would get it from the library and return it. But it was a National Book Award finalist, so it should be good. My library got the audio and I had to wait months to get it, so it should be good. It's historical fiction and I love that, so it should be good. Don't get me wrong, I liked it, but I had many issues with it.
Pachinko tells the story of several generations of one Korean family. You first start out, learning about this family and how they live in Korea. But then, due to war, they are moved to Japan. Eventually we learn of Sunja, a young peasant girl, the daughter of a poor family who runs a boarding house for fishermen. She becomes pregnant at a very early age, which is scandalous. But one of the boarders who knew of her father, marries her and takes her to Japan. You learn about her history and her children and children's children. This is one family sweeping saga that spans 70-80 years. You learn the strife of Koreans living in Japan, the racism that they faced, assimilating into Japanese culture, the customs and ways of the Japanese. That part I loved hearing about. I loved hearing about Korea and the food, it took me back to a trip that I had to Korea. Then, we switched to Japan, which I just adore. You learn of the Pachinko parlors as one family member runs. Oh the pachinko parlors, they were absolutely insane. Think Vegas amplified, with lots of wild colors, and high vibe atmosphere. I really enjoyed being able to think back to my time there. But the book was too long, it often jumped around. I really enjoyed learning about Sunja, her parents, and her children. But when her children, got older, it seemed to be all over the place. It cover many topics such as racism, war, strife, suicide, gay men, loose women, the Yakuza, AIDS, and more.
I think this book could have been trimmed down quite a bit. I was really loving it, thinking it might be a 5 star read, but then it seems to throw in so many topics, and some were glossed over, or I did not get the resolution I desired. The final 1/4 of the book was totally not needed and really drug the book down for me. I might have gone lower on my rating but I loved more than 2/3 of the book, I couldn't let that ending drag it down. Overall, glad I read this one. I ultimately picked it up for my Japanese reading challenge. Though focused on Koreans, much of the book takes place in Japan. So this was a perfect fit for the challenge. (less)
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