Pachinko Review

 

Pachinko 

By: Min Jin Lee 

Released: February 7th, 2017  

Pages: 496

My Rating: 5/5 

Goodreads Synopsis: 

In the early 1900's, teenaged Sunja, the adored daughter of a cripples fisherman, falls for a wealthy stranger at the seashore near her home in Korea. He promises her the world, but when she discovers she is pregnant - and that her lover is married - she refuses to be bought. Instead, she accepts an offer of marriage from a gentle, sickly minister passing through on his way to Japan. But her decision to abandon her home, and to reject her son's powerful father, sets off a dramatic saga that will echo down through the generations. 

Richly told and profoundly moving, Pachinko is a story of love, sacrifice, ambition, and loyalty. From the bustling street markets to the halls of Japan's finest universities to the pachinko parlors of the criminal underworld, Lee's complex and passionate characters - strong, stubborn women, devoted sisters and sons, fathers shaken by moral crisis - survive and thrive against the indifferent arc of history. 

My Review:

Okay, wow! This book was absolutely amazing. Easily my favorite read of 2021. This book felt so daunting to start and that is why it took me so long to actually read it. I cannot believe I let it sit on my TBR shelf for as long as it did because it truly is a masterful story and deserves to be enjoyed by all.

Pachinko follows the story of one family through different generations. You really get to know each and every character and I just love that you get to see the same characters as the years go on. I felt like the author did a wondrous job at creating these characters because you really grow to feel for them all. I finished the book two days ago now and still find myself thinking about Sunja, Mozasu, Kyunghee, and the lot.  My heart felt so heavy throughout many moments of this book and I felt like I learned a good amount about the dynamics between Japan and Korea. This is a longer book and I thought it was going to take me forever to get through it but I found that I could not put this one down and finished it in four days. I had to know what happened to this family. 

Honestly, if you have not read this book, I highly recommend that you pick it up asap because it is a stunning novel. I really have nothing negative to say about it at all. If you are a character driven read this is a must read for you. Even if you are not, I do not see what you would not like about this one. It has a fast plot and packs a powerful punch. You have to pick this book up! 

Signing off,

Molly