Pachinko in Reading with Style

Apr 30, 2019 Connie G rated it really liked it

Shelves: book-club, historical-fiction, japan, korea, family

I loved the emotional warmth that was present in Min Jin Lee's writing. "Pachinko" is a Korean family saga spanning four generations during the 20th Century. Although there were many characters, the reader will feel like they have seen into the heart and mind of each one through their actions. The author also weaves Korean and Japanese history into her story, including the hardships of World War II.

Sunja, a teenager in a Korean fishing village during the Japanese occupation, is seduced by Hansu ...more

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Jan 10, 2019 Rosemary rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I loved this historical saga about ethnic Koreans in Japan. From visiting Korea I knew something about the Japanese invasions and colonisation there, but I never thought much about what life would have been like for Korean people who migrated to Japan. So this was fascinating for me.

Sunja is seduced by a rich man who visits her village on an island off the south coast of Korea in the 1930s. Pregnant and discovering that he is married, she refuses his offer to be his kept mistress and instead mar ...more

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Jul 14, 2021 Audrey rated it liked it

As with all sagas, it is natural to have multiple characters. The reason why I picked up this book is because I met the author a couple of years ago at a reading and she moved me with the excerpt she read. Also I hear it’s being filmed for AppleTV and I really want to watch the series after I read the book :)

BUT…I’ve read many sagas and one of the things about such stories is that you really need to manage the characters properly so that you don’t end up discounting the reader’s emotional invest ...more

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Jun 20, 2022 Eunbee Grace Chung rated it really liked it

I expected the book to have Amy Tan's witty, lyrical and crisp-style writing. It turned out to be a more narrative, storytelling type of family saga that shed light on many but especially the lives of Koreans living in Korea & Japan during/post-war. The story itself is powerful and captivating. Lee did it well telling a story without overdoing it, just telling it as it is, from the omniscient view. I really shouldn't compare these two prolific writers but I can't help myself preferring Tan... bu ...more

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