Pachinko - New Cover Paperback – 10 October 2022

I don't have words to describe my love for this book. It's amazing!! ❤️Also, I love Baek Isak's character. He was gem of the story. 🫂 And it's the only character to whom justice was done in casting in drama too!! Like Noh Sang-hyun was best choice for character. And character was best in the whole story🤍🧿

Min Ji Lee's Pachinko is a family saga that takes you in the footsteps of a Korean family of three generations, 8 decades from Korea to Japan beginning from 1910 to ending in 90'.There are three parts to the story. The first part follows the story of Sunja, her move from Korea to Japan after marriage, struggles of being an immigrant in a hostile country. And then later part follows the story of her sons Noah and Mozasu. Difficulties, Discrimination faced being Korean in Japan and stepping into the pachinko business. And the last part is the story of her grandson Solomon who wishes to expand their Pachinko business over the States.I thoroughly enjoyed part 1,2 but in part 3 I felt like it was a bit rushed and I didn't like the way the main character Sunja was sidelined for the whole time and the ending story of Noah. So many characters are introduced, so many stories. The story would have been so better if the author focused on the existing characters.Sunja is the character that going to stay in my heart for a long time. Her patience, her resilience, her force of nature. And I also liked the bond between Kyung-hee and Sunja. The whole depictions of father-daughter, mother-son and sister-in-law relationships are heartwarming to read. Lee's writing is beautiful and the book was unstoppable once started.It also gives insights into the impact of Japanese colonization of Korea, war dynamics between Korea & Japan, ill-treatment, racism faced by the Koreans, plight of immigrants & even after generations they are still considered foreigners on land. Japanese involvement in the second world war, the agony of Koreans not having their own home.A wonderful epic family saga. I highly recommend it.

Pachinko is book that is hard to keep down. The story moves at a good pace and keeps you wanting to know more. Despite the number of characters, it is easy to remember them distinctly. It ticks all the boxes for a good fictional book.

This is not just a story of a Korean family. This story outlines the impact of japanesse imperialism, world war and discrimination on the most unfortunate family of very unfortunate individuals.As mentioned I. The book, they paid all their taxes - the poor tax, the middleclass tax and the rich tax. A timeline where both rich and poor Koreans suffered the same in Japan. The setting might be different but all immigrants are treated the same irrespective of their stature, age etc. In this sense the book gives the reality of today's world as well.The book does not give the traditional happy ending but a realistic one where everyone evolve from their cocoon, learn new things, answer to the call at hand, and always give their best. This is Sunja's story who has instilled this sense on everyone around her. In hindsight she sculpted everyone's life in a new countryAn excellent and inspiring novel which incorporates feminism, hard work and love without making it a big deal.

PachinkoBy Min Jin LeeWritten by a Korean-American journalist, an effort to showcase the backdrop of wars and colonisation, thru a fiction.“History has failed us, but no matter.”..they had to survive & the most dreadful thing to do is to survive. The novel did its best in picturing what it takes in order to just SURVIVE, as there was nothing to being other than mere survivors.The story is written in such a way that you will hit many a juncture and you would think, the story will soon be hitting the end..but those will always belie you. It may feel like it is a streched one, but I don't think there would have been any better way to present the notion!From the point of view of literature, this one stands out in the crowd. A perfect book for buddy-reads or book discussions. It has everything to offer, it may shake you to an extent..as you will be left wondering how cruel things can get!Well, I think the book ended a bit early..really want to know what life would be like for the characters, now.“There’s nothing worse than knowing that you’re just like everybody else.”⭐ - 4.0#Books #bookstagram#Pachinko #MinJinLee