A Book Review: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee - SPOILER FREE

Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Would I recommend it: Yes! If you're into history and want to know about the experiences of immigrants or about the effects/aftermath of the Japanese occupation in Korea I'd highly recommend it. Or if you're just looking for a book that'll make you emotional :))

Pachinko lived up to every expectation I had and truly blew my mind. As a massive fan of historical fiction, I do think my standards are quite high, but Pachinko is a fantastic book, and I’d highly recommend it!!

Pachinko is set across multiple generations and goes in-depth about how Korean immigrants were treated and viewed in Japan during both the Japanese occupation of Korea and WW2. The word Pachinko itself refers to a Japanese gambling machine that was popular at that time (and still is now), sort of like a pinball machine.

The characterisation in the first two parts of the book was phenomenal and I couldn’t bring myself to put the book down. Things did slow down quite a bit in the last part, but it was still enjoyable! I managed to finish it within 2 nights because of how much I wanted to keep reading it.

The main character Sunja is an incredibly likeable MC and her development was really solid throughout the book too, the same can be said for her grandma and her kids, but I did start to get a little less interested when the fourth generation was introduced.

At times the book did feel a little slow but that is to be expected since it spans across 4 generations. I do feel as though the ending was a little unsatisfying, but it’s real if that makes sense. Pachinko provides a meaningful insight into how Koreans were treated in Japan and showed the futility of integration at the time. Many characters thought that if they went to Japanese schools, spoke fluent Japanese, and adopted Japanese customs then they might’ve had a chance at being accepted; a gamble/risk they took. Whilst the ending was a little unsatisfying it fit the book and it made sense.

The range of emotions this book made me feel was wild. At one specific part of the book my heart lurched, and I felt it sink. My mouth was wide open, and I sat there for a good minute or so processing what happened. It came out of nowhere, but you could sense it was building up. I had to re-read the pages to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. It made me cry, it made me smile and most importantly it made me empathise with the struggle the characters (and many Koreans) went through.

If you enjoyed this then you're in luck because more reviews will be posted soon (hopefully). In the meantime feel free to check out my Instagram page @fiction.ism where I will be more active. Also, a more detailed version of my Pachinko review will be posted containing spoilers so check that out as well if you want :))

Stay safe everyone,

Love and guidance,

Aziza (a.k.a little miss has exams and coursework to do but is too busy fussing over a lil ol blog that has about 4 and a half readers)