Pachinko
Compelling
Touching
Heartbreaking

Pachinko

Min Jin Lee2017
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.
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Reviews

Photo of karol tang
karol tang@karolrtang
5 stars
Nov 16, 2023
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Syrina Akbari@syrinaina
3.5 stars
Nov 14, 2023
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Silvia Sants@original_1oo
5 stars
Sep 13, 2023
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Winona @notnoni
2 stars
Sep 7, 2023
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Kahli Scott@kahliscott
5 stars
Sep 4, 2023
Photo of Barbara Williford
Barbara Williford@barbarawilliford
3 stars
Aug 13, 2023
Photo of Lamia Hajani
Lamia Hajani@lamafoyomama
5 stars
Aug 10, 2023
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Briar's Reviews@briarsreviews
5 stars
Jul 31, 2023
Photo of altlovesbooks
altlovesbooks@altlovesbooks
3 stars
Jul 5, 2023
Photo of Valentina
Valentina@goodvalhunting
4 stars
Jul 3, 2023
Tragic
Unique
Honest
Powerful
Expressive
Educational
Heartbreaking
Photo of Iona Adams
Iona Adams@ionaadams
4 stars
Jul 2, 2023
Photo of Bi
Bi@mytileneve
4 stars
Jun 28, 2023
Photo of claire law
claire law@clairelaw
4 stars
Jun 19, 2023
Photo of Sara Raffalski
Sara Raffalski@saralski
4.5 stars
Jun 14, 2023
Complex
Insightful
Photo of dmitria guimarães
dmitria guimarães@dmotria
5 stars
May 31, 2023
Photo of Xin Ma
Xin Ma@xym
3.5 stars
May 22, 2023
Photo of Karis Ryu
Karis Ryu@karisr
5 stars
May 16, 2023
Photo of alexandra
alexandra@twirlingpages
4 stars
May 14, 2023
Photo of momo-reads
momo-reads@momo-reads
3 stars
May 4, 2023
Photo of Wynter
Wynter@wynter
3 stars
May 4, 2023
Photo of Tuago
Tuago@iagomr
5 stars
Apr 13, 2023
Photo of Mellanie Ann Duque
Mellanie Ann Duque@noshelcontrol
5 stars
Apr 1, 2023
Photo of Souhaila
Souhaila@souha
4 stars
Mar 23, 2023
Touching
Insightful
Heartbreaking
Photo of Lucy Mills-Taylor
Lucy Mills-Taylor@tiercel05
3 stars
Mar 13, 2023
Fascinating
Contemplative

Highlights

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Syrina Akbari@syrinaina
Page 393
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Syrina Akbari@syrinaina
Page 42
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Syrina Akbari@syrinaina
Page 4
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Clarissa @clariy
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Souhaila@souha
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kyli ^^@nekoylee
Page 341
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Hyacinth@hyacinth
Page 477
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Magdalena@mnrimgreadssometimes
Page 212
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Natalie Stenson@natalies
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Akansha@readreviewcoffee
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Page 276