Name: Pachinko
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

Akansha

Natalie Stenson

Magdalena

Hyacinth

Beyond the dailiness, there had been moments of shimmering beauty and some glory, too, even in this ajumma's life. Even if no one knew, it was true.

Clarissa 

You want to see a very bad man? Make an ordinary man successful beyond his imagination. Let's see how good he is when he can do whatever he wants.

Syrina

The peasants knew that a spoiled son did more harm to a family than a dead one, and they kept themselves from indulging him too much.

People are rotten everywhere you go. They’re no good. You want to see a very bad man? Make an ordinary man successful beyond his imagination. Let’s see how good he is when he can do whatever he wants.

Etsuko Held the watch case in her hand and wondered how they’d stay together with him not giving up and her not giving in

lili

I talk to the dead although I don’t believe in ghosts. But it makes me feel good to speak with them. Maybe that is what God is.

A woman’s lot is to suffer. We must suffer. 

clara

He walked rigidly and calmly, not believing that a person you loved—yes, he had loved her —could end up being someone you never knew.

… to tell Noa that a man must learn to forgive to know what is important, that to live without forgiveness was a kind of death with breathing and movement.

Min Jin Lee on death of fictional characters 

It is possible that characters need to die for the author to make her moral point, for the author himself to regenerate by letting go of an ideal identity, or for the world to recognize the necessity of certain ideas and ideals to die.

the pain didn’t go away, but its sharp edge had dulled and softened like sea glass

"Go-saeng," Yangjin said out loud. "A woman's lot is to suffer."

"Yes, go-saeng." Kyunghee nodded, repeating the word for suffering.

All her life, Sunja had heard this sentiment from other women, that they must suffer- suffer as a girl, suffer as a wife, suffer as a mother-die suffering. Go-saeng-the word made her sick. What else was there besides this?

Naisu

“Living everyday in the presence of those who refuse to acknowledge your humanity takes great courage.”

a. 💫

People are rotten everywnere you go. good. You want to see a very bad man? Make an ordinary man successful beyond his imagination. Let's see how good he is when he can do whatever he wants.

* 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.

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.

˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶

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*

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 Kristen

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*

Mira <3

"a woman's lot is to suffer" 

this book is gorgeous, and it makes me wish i could map out the history of my family, and the women who have cemented our story in time. teared up a few times - amazing read.

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.

Reiza H

Udah lama gak baca novel kayak gini.

I admit, there are two moments in the book that makes my eyes teary. It is an astonishing, touching story about a Korean immigrant that spans three generations.

I learned a lot about the life of Koreans in Japan. How hard life was for them, and even now, they continually face discrimination. 

I learned not only about their discrimination, but also their determinations to make their life better.

What I took as a lesson is this: Life can be hard, and it seems unfair. But there's hope. 

There's always hope in life.

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!

This book is a constant roller coaster of emotions and showcases the harsh realities of life. No country, no person, no culture is perfect, if anything it shows the cruelest   sides of humanity. I highly recommend this book. 

Naveen Sheik

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.

Gigi V

I am re-reading because I found out Lee Min Ho is going to be in the movie. 🤪🤪🤪🤪

page-turner that made me cry and feel whole inside :(

buny

Edit: I feel in my dissatisfaction with the novel as a whole, I forgot to marvel in here about how goddamn amazing Min Jin Lee was for naming the book Pachinko. Because that is so cool????????? (DO not mind my random burst of anxiousness because I hate  hate  my feelings not getting across regarding things I really appreciate.) 

I can see why this worked for so many people but for me, it just. Didn't. For the me who needs to be shown things instead of told them outright (in books, I'm quite dumb irl),  Pachinko  could've used better, more emotive writing. And I understand it couldn't have been so easy to work with so many characters throughout multiple generations with so many changes, from countries to places to sceneries to even the things around the house, but when I'm reading a book spanning through generations with a war and questioning identities and emotional turmoils of all kinds from love to managing kids to dealing with grief of losing your loved ones going on, I expect at least to feel a little bit of moved, touched even slightly. 

I appreciate this book and its purpose for being written but I didn't particularly like it or feel connected to the characters; it felt like, to me, that there was a veil of detachment keeping me from reaching inside Sunja or any of the other character's mind and I would've faulted myself for it if I didn't dedicate myself fully to absorbing this novel for the past few days. I was quite disappointed overall for I did not feel that hungry curiosity gnawing at me throughout the book nor did I feel the nervous anxiousness for these people who were going through  so  much shit; I did want for nothing to but just hug Mozasu and Solomon at times and, when Sunja in the end went to Isak's grave, I felt bittersweet leaving her and her story but other than that, it didn't do much for me :/

Sarah Sammis

Pachinko is the first book by Min Jin Lee since her debut in 2007, Free Food for Millionaires. I must admit that I was unduly harsh in my review of her debut and over the years I have grown to appreciate it more than I did as a first time reader. Lee's books need to be read slowly and deliberately. 

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2017/comm...

Pachinko

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