In the early 1900s, teenaged Sunja, the adored daughter of a crippled 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 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.
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Genres: Historical fiction, racism portrayal, domestic life
Pages: 496
Cover: Paperback
Age rating: 14
Buy on: Amazon, Kindle
​​​
​,
​
​
​
Review:
​​​Characters and Plot
This story is slow and beautiful, sometimes, it hits you hard that you get emotional. The story takes place in the early 1900s all the way to the 80s, so the nostalgia feeling is heavy in this. You get to see Sunja grow up, from a teenager to a mom to a grandma, and all the nostalgia feeling just hit you. Sunja is hard working, kind, and sacrifice everything for her child. She endured discrimination and prejudice in Japan, but didn't let that discourage her, instead, it makes her stronger.
​
I love how this story portrays the hardship that women go through in the early 1900, they had to fit in the expectation of society or risk being rejected and shame. Sunja was being shame for carrying a man's child at the age of 16 because she couldn't marry him. Everyone blame her but the man, even though she was being groom and manipulated. Still, Sunja didn't give up, she accept help from Isak, married him and move to Japan. Sunja quiet determination was admirable and I just love her so much. The domestic housewife life wasn't easy either, they had to please their husband, or be shame and kick out. The way that Yoseb treated Sunja boil my blood, he was angry at Sunja after she pay of his debt, saying that it hurts his pride and that Sunja might had ruin his image... like bro... u couldn't pay it so shut up and let the lady does it for you.
​
There were so many tragedies in the book as well, the one that struck me the most was Noa. I really hated him when he flip of on Sunja and yell at her, saying that she ruin his life even though she sacrifice and work so hard for him. But in the end, I do understand his struggle, he takes other people's words to seriously, and all the racism, discrimination really scarred Noa.
​
I love Mozasu, he live in poverty as a kid, but when he grow up, through hard work and smart strategy, he became a millionaire and owner of a pachinko parlor. Mozasu was an honest man, after he hit it off, his family's condition improve drastically. It felt so weird to read about Sunja's house having a color tv when a few chapters ago, she was selling kimch early in the morning to get money for Noa's school tuition.
​​Conclusion
Pachinko is a beautiful, tragic yet also heartwarming book at the same time. It is a must read, it portrays the hardship of women in the 1900, the expectation they had to fit in and the traditional house life of families, where the man work and the women stay at home.
​
​
​
​