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A review by kaceyyy
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I think this is one of my favourite books of the year - if not my favourite (I just need to sit with it a bit).
There were so many points near the end where I nearly cried - honestly I still feel weird after just finishing it bc I was so emotionally attached to the characters. Following 4 generations of a family from 1910-1989, understanding their relationships, etc. and their migration from Korea to Japan and their relationship with America just opened my eyes a lot. I didn’t know about the Japanese occupation of Korea, or how north and South Korea got split, or the discrimination faced by Koreans in Japan. It was hard to read at points bc of how emotional it was - but the writing style was very engrossing + I felt like I understood each character so well I just didn’t want to stop reading.
There were so many points near the end where I nearly cried - honestly I still feel weird after just finishing it bc I was so emotionally attached to the characters. Following 4 generations of a family from 1910-1989, understanding their relationships, etc. and their migration from Korea to Japan and their relationship with America just opened my eyes a lot. I didn’t know about the Japanese occupation of Korea, or how north and South Korea got split, or the discrimination faced by Koreans in Japan. It was hard to read at points bc of how emotional it was - but the writing style was very engrossing + I felt like I understood each character so well I just didn’t want to stop reading.