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Task #9: A book of colonial or postcolonial literature
By Book Riot · 195 posts · 2379 views
By Book Riot · 195 posts · 2379 views
last updated Dec 23, 2018 05:23AM
What Members Thought
Read Harder 2018: Book of Colonial or Postcolonial Literature
This book begins in 1910 in Korea, right after its colonization by Japan. As Japan began to annex land and raise taxes, many Koreans were left with little money or choices other than to travel to Japan in hopes of some way to scrape by a living.
A young Korean girl named Sunja becomes pregnant by a wealthy Korean man Hansu who lives in Japan but visits Korea often. When Sunja finds out Hansu is married in Japan and simply wants to keep ...more
This book begins in 1910 in Korea, right after its colonization by Japan. As Japan began to annex land and raise taxes, many Koreans were left with little money or choices other than to travel to Japan in hopes of some way to scrape by a living.
A young Korean girl named Sunja becomes pregnant by a wealthy Korean man Hansu who lives in Japan but visits Korea often. When Sunja finds out Hansu is married in Japan and simply wants to keep ...more
Pachinko is a multigenerational saga about a family of Koreans who have to move to Japan because...reasons. Initially, Sunja, the beloved daughter of two older parents (older in that they were early 20s when she was born in the early 20th century), gets pregnant. Her lover, she discovers after it’s too late, already has a wife in Japan. One of the boarders at her parents’ boardinghouse, a preacher traveling to his new church, offers to marry her. She accepts and goes with him to make a new life
...more
Dec 09, 2018
Alison
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
dcpl_elibrary
A compelling, well-written story of several generations of Koreans in Japan. It felt very immersive, and the characters were, on the whole, well-developed and seemed consistent to themselves throughout their lives. Highly recommend.
Engrossing epic and a fascinating (and often heartbreaking) look at what long-term, generational immigration looks like in another country. I found the shifting focus in the second half of the book interesting and a bit unexpected, especially since she's so narrowly focused in the first. The initial shifts into the son's lives felt fairly natural, as the "action" moved there, but as the perspective scattered more, I felt like I was losing some of the power of the narrative. That said, there were
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I barely knew anything about the long history of relations between Korea and Japan—I learned so much from this book. The story and characters were also engaging, if at times sad or even devastating.
2 1/2 stars.
4.5 stars
Jul 02, 2017
Laura
marked it as to-read
Jun 09, 2018
Audacia Ray
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-in-2018,
fiction
Nov 08, 2017
gremlinkitten
marked it as to-read-own
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2019-oct-library-book-sale
Dec 18, 2017
Aubrey
marked it as to-read
Nov 22, 2022
Jenny
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
rockin-ladies-bookclub
