Pachinko is a compelling novel that deals with many issues faced by a Korean family living in Japan over four generations of the 20th Century. What stood out the most for me while reading was how much I learned about Korean history in this work of historical fiction. For instance, I had no idea that Koreans were treated so badly by the Japanese and I was completely ignorant of Korean’s troubling history over the years the author covered.
First Korea was occupied and controlled by Japan for many years and later the country was divided into two: North and South Korea. Some Koreans who went to Japan to find work decided to go home after the Japanese occupation was over and ended up in a worse situation living in North Korea.
And yes, I learned a lot about Korean history and culture, but I also liked following the story of the main character, a young Korean woman named Sunja who ends up migrating to Japan. Other characters in the novel were also well developed such as her parents, her first love, her husband and her two sons. I cared about what happened to all of them. For example, when someone died in the book, it bothered me.
The first two thirds of the book held more interest for me than the last third, which primarily dealt with Sunja’s grandson Solomon and the issues he faced in the 1980s in Japan. That’s why I only give the book four stars, not five.
Even so, I felt the book was very well written with author Min Jin Lee giving detailed descriptions of family members and their conflicts in Japan, both in terms of dealing with the culture there and in terms of disputes among themselves. In summary, it was educational, interesting to read and well thought out.
* The million-copy bestseller* * National Book Award finalist * * One of the New York Times's 10 Best Books of 2017 * * Selected for Emma Watson's Our Shared Shelf book club *
'This is a captivating book... Min Jin Lee's novel takes us through four generations and each character's search for identity and success. It's a powerful story about resilience and compassion' BARACK OBAMA.
Yeongdo, Korea 1911. In a small fishing village on the banks of the East Sea, a club-footed, cleft-lipped man marries a fifteen-year-old girl. The couple have one child, their beloved daughter Sunja. When Sunja…
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THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK
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