Name: Pachinko
Rating: 4.407111111111111 (900 reviews)
ISBN: 9781786691361

Min Jin Lee

A Victorian epic transplanted to Japan, following a Korean family of immigrants through eight decades and four generations. Busan, Korea 1911: A club-footed, cleft-lipped man marries a fteen-year-old beauty. The couple have one child, their beloved daughter Sunja. When Sunja falls pregnant by a married yakuza, the family face ruin. But then Isak, a Christian minister, offers her a chance of salvation: a new life in Japan as his wife. Following a man she barely knows to a hostile country in which she has no friends, no home, and whose language she cannot speak, Sunja's salvation is just the beginning of her story. Through eight decades and four generations, Pachinko is an epic tale of family, identity, love, death and survival.

Pachinko

A New York Times Top Ten Book of the Year and National Book Award finalist, Pachinko is an "extraordinary epic" of four generations of a poor Korean immigrant family as they fight to control their destiny in 20th-century Japan (San Francisco Chronicle). NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2017 * A USA TODAY TOP TEN OF 2017 * JULY PICK FOR THE PBS NEWSHOUR-NEW YORK TIMES BOOK CLUB NOW READ THIS * FINALIST FOR THE 2018 DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE* WINNER OF THE MEDICI BOOK CLUB PRIZE Roxane Gay's Favorite Book of 2017, Washington Post NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * #1 BOSTON GLOBE BESTSELLER * USA TODAY BESTSELLER * WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER * WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER "There could only be a few winners, and a lot of losers. And yet we played on, because we had hope that we might be the lucky ones." 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. *Includes reading group guide*

this might have sparked my interest in family saga. also, words aren't enough to describe how intricate and beautiful this book is. a new favorite book!

Jason Wong

I loved this book. The huge, sweeping arc of history through the 1900s shows an old Korea and Japan, and a rapidly changing Japan through the war and the economic miracle. While the time scale and historical events are dramatic, the book focuses on several generations of a single family, really tied together by one girl who immigrates from Korea to Japan because of a significant life event. What stuck with me was how Sunja's life was like the title game, Pachinko - mostly random, but with a subtle guiding hand. I believe the novel runs out of steam in the third part - moving too fast, taking too many detours for minor characters. But, by the end of the book, I was left so emotional, thinking about this woman's life, and thinking about my own parents' lives, when they immigrated from Hong Kong to the US. This is a breathtaking book.

Bárbara Borba

I felt like I could keep reading this forever.

Jennifer

A mainstream historical fiction book about the hateful relationship between the Japanese and Koreans from a Korean point of view! I never thought I'd see the day. Love the symbolism of the title and being able to peek into unpredictable lives over time. Family karma is so real. I loved the seamless transitions between stories. It was almost dreamlike.

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.

M. Sosotris

Beautiful, sweeping, devastating. I loved this book. Has the scope of Gone with the Wind, but handles discussions of racism and the struggles of minorities in societies who work to keep them down with much more nuance and intelligence.  The familial relationships are so beautifully painted, and I love how the elegant prose keeps the book from feeling sentimental or melodramatic. It takes cues from Victorian novels like David Copperfield, but feels so much more grounded. I was swept away by this beautiful story, and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys family sagas that span periods of great cultural upheaval.

* The million-copy bestseller* * National Book Award finalist * * One of the New York Times's 10 Best Books of 2017 * * Selected for Emma Watson's Our Shared Shelf book club * 'This is a captivating book ... Min Jin Lee's novel takes us through four generations and each character's search for identity and success. It's a powerful story about resilience and compassion' BARACK OBAMA. Yeongdo, Korea 1911. In a small fishing village on the banks of the East Sea, a club-footed, cleft-lipped man marries a fifteen-year-old girl. The couple have one child, their beloved daughter Sunja. When Sunja falls pregnant by a married yakuza, the family face ruin. But then Isak, a Christian minister, offers her a chance of salvation: a new life in Japan as his wife. Following a man she barely knows to a hostile country in which she has no friends, no home, and whose language she cannot speak, Sunja's salvation is just the beginning of her story. Through eight decades and four generations, Pachinko is an epic tale of family, identity, love, death and survival.

The New York Times Bestseller

Such a small story in such a big piece of history, but also such a big story such a small piece of history. I really didn’t know what I was getting into when I started reading this book and safe to say I was left stunned it carried a typical Korean in Japanese literature vibe where a lot of things were left unsaid and that’s what made up a story. I however, did not like the last hundred pages of book for some reason reading about Solomon and Hana was a bore, and just felt very detached from the rest of the story and the last scene between Sunja and her mother was so painful to read, but overall a fantastic book, it opened me up to a part of history that I had never bothered to read about or think about research about before

Anushree Taparia

* The million-copy bestseller* * National Book Award finalist * * One of the New York Times's 10 Best Books of 2017 * * Selected for Emma Watson's Our Shared Shelf book club * 'This is a captivating book ... Min Jin Lee's novel takes us through four generations and each character's search for identity and success. It's a powerful story about resilience and compassion' BARACK OBAMA. Yeongdo, Korea 1911. In a small fishing village on the banks of the East Sea, a club-footed, cleft-lipped man marries a fifteen-year-old girl. The couple have one child, their beloved daughter Sunja. When Sunja falls pregnant by a married yakuza, the family face ruin. But then Isak, a Christian minister, offers her a chance of salvation: a new life in Japan as his wife. Following a man she barely knows to a hostile country in which she has no friends, no home, and whose language she cannot speak, Sunja's salvation is just the beginning of her story. Through eight decades and four generations, Pachinkois an epic tale of family, identity, love, death and survival.

˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶

I did not expect my eyes to swell at the ending. As if all their journey, happiness, and suffering came flooding at the same time.

Nate

Ella rec. Gotta listen to her more every single rec has changed my life. Heartbreaking diaspora lit but not in the usual direction. Life is all about cycles, of grief, of love, of luck and achievement and abundance we go around and around. Even with every advantage you can’t escape your legacy but maybe you can turn it into a reclamation. 

First book in a looong time that got me this hooked, absolutely amazing. 

Bastiaan

loved it sm more than I expected🙇‍♀️

sophie yang 

muito lindo, mas dava pra ter 100 páginas a menos

júlia dornelas

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST * A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW TOP TEN OF THE YEAR * NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2017 *A USA TODAY TOP TEN OF 2017 Roxane Gay's Favorite Book of 2017, Washington Post NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * #1 BOSTON GLOBE BESTSELLER * USA TODAY BESTSELLER In this gorgeous, page-turning saga, four generations of a poor Korean immigrant family fight to control their destiny in 20th-century Japan, exiled from a home they never knew. "There could only be a few winners, and a lot of losers. And yet we played on, because we had hope that we might be the lucky ones." 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.

i haven't read a book quite like this. it's a testament of strength, willpower, and love. it's full of heart and soul, and that's why it's heartbreaking. oh, noa i wish you knew how much people loved you despite your lineage. and solomon, you got this :")

gianna

historical fiction that gave me perspective into the lives, pain and grit of korean women during the war 

victoria lim

this is an exceptional book about human survival, not in a sci-fi way but in a very plain way: it’s a book about family. there is something so special about a book that makes you think about your own life and the people that created it, as this one does. the progression of time is done very elegantly, and the way time skips towards the end was very realistic to me in how families hear updates on each other when they’re generations apart. phenomenally written without trying too hard, min jin lee has written a masterpiece. i only wish it had been longer ;) 

Nina

A victorian epic transplanted to Japan, following a Korean family of immigrants through eight decades and four generations. Yeongdo, Korea 1911. A club-footed, cleft-lipped man marries a fifteen-year-old girl. The couple have one child, their beloved daughter Sunja. When Sunja falls pregnant by a married yakuza, the family face ruin. But then a Christian minister offers a chance of salvation: a new life in Japan as his wife. Following a man she barely knows to a hostile country where she has no friends and no home, Sunja's salvation is just the beginning of her story.

Svetlana 

*silently sobbing in the corner of my room because world is unfair place to live in*

Ryan Mateyk

ploral

I enjoyed the first 2/3rd of the book but the last 1/3rd wasn't for me. The time skips didn't work for me.

I’m honestly shocked at the impression this book left on me and how much I enjoyed it. I started reading this book because I had heard good reviews on it but didn’t actually think I would enjoy it as I’m more into action or thriller/crime based books.

It touches on the struggles and suffering of Koreans in Japan in the 1900’s and their will to overcome them. It’s definitely sad, frustrating (mostly from empathizing with a character) and a bit slow at times in pov of a reader but honestly does a great job overall to keep your attention. I loved it and honestly, if I ever have nothing else to read in the future, I can definitely see myself reading this book again.

lily

I’m honestly shocked at the impression this book left on me and how much I enjoyed it. I started reading this book because I had heard good reviews on it but didn’t actually think I would enjoy it as I’m more into action or thriller/crime based books.

It touches on the struggles and suffering of Koreans in Japan in the 1900’s and their will to overcome them. It’s definitely sad, frustrating (mostly from empathizing with a character) and a bit slow at times in pov of a reader but honestly does a great job overall to keep your attention. I loved it and honestly, if I ever have nothing else to read in the future, I can definitely see myself reading this book again.

raven

Did not know anything about this when I started reading it and just wow.. This was so beautifully written and detailed, tugs at your heartstrings at times then reminds you of the realities of living through those times as a Korean in Japan back then.

lauren

** spoiler alert **
           not quite a 5 but too good for a 4.
4.2/5 stars.
some criticism about there being too many characters! you would not last a day reading dr zhivago! anyways, i didn't mind it. i read this over a couple of months so this actually made it easier to remember everyone.
LOVE what the author did with akiko's character. i feel like there are a lot of people like her in this world (and not in a good way). also thought it was very interesting that she never figured out how harmful her words were to noa. overall, the waseda chapters were brilliant.
only thing that kind of bothered me was yumi's death! why did they kill her off? and the random car that hit her? oh well!

Pachinko

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