You all know I’m obsessed with all things Asian. And family saga novels spanned over several decades are one of my favorites genres to read (see here, here, and here). These two beautiful, favorite things of mine are mashed up and blended in one gorgeous historical fiction read in Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko.
PACHINKO BY MIN JIN LEE
The story is set in both Korea and Japan, and spans through four generations of one Korean family during the 20th century. I know very, very little about Korean culture, and it was extremelly eye opening, especially before, during, and after WWII. I didn’t realize how many Korean’s migrated to Japan because of the hardships faced in their home country, and of course, didn’t realize how heavily they would be discriminated against by the Japanese. It was very interesting and yet deeply depressing. I felt like I learned a lot about the dynamics between the two cultures and of course the class system, and I loved every minute of it.
The character development is exceptional, and as I’m sure you know by now, a story with poor character development is one of my biggest hot buttons when it comes to fiction novels. FIVE STARS for that, Min Jin Lee!
Our story starts in Korea in the early 1900s with Hoonie, a young man with a cleft palate and a twisted foot who runs his parents fisherman’s lodge. Despite his deformities he is matched with a wife. After many miscarriages and stillbirths, they finally give birth to a healthy daughter, Sunja. When Sunja is a young teenager she ends up getting pregnant by a man she falls in love with. Little did she know he was already a married man. He offers to provide for her and the child, but too proud and stubborn, Sunja refuses to be his mistress. A single and kindhearted pastor, Isak, unable to find a wife, offers to marry Sunja, and raise her unborn child as his own. Shortly afterwards, they end up moving to Japan, where Isak’s family lives. Sunja gives birth to Noa, and a few years later, Sunja and Isak have a son of their own, named Mozasu born just before WWII broke out. We watch Noa and Mozasu grow up in Osaka and deal with the trials and tribulations of being in Japan, yet heavily discriminated against. The story concludes in 1989 in Tokyo following the life of Solomon, Mozasu’s son, Sunja’s grandson, Hoonie’s great grandson.
Of course, I do have a few mild critiques. For starters, this is a pretty lengthy book, nearly 500 pages. I felt like a lot could have been trimmed down, it was packed with SO much information (both historical and character driven) that it became a tad overwhelming at times. And lastly, the last 1/3 of the book felt like it jumped around a lot and character choices, motivations, and actions were barely explained. It almost felt the entire tone shifted and didn’t have the same beautiful feel to it, it also just felt so scattered and abrupt. And because of bizarre turn the last 1/3 took, I knocked it down from five stars to four stars on GoodReads.
Still an excellent book that I believe will be worth your time! But again, only if you’re heavily into historical family sagas — if not, then definitely pass!