#pachinko min jin lee

[grand-theft-breadcrumbs]

This is a book critique so if you don’t want that negativity then maybe don’t read this.

Ight so I’m reading this book called Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. It focusses around the life of this woman called Sunja who is Korean and leaves to go to Osaka in the early 30s with her husband. The book probably goes on to about the 80s/90s but I haven’t finished it.  One thing that is really bugging me about it though, is how desperate the narrator feels to not focalize on Sunja. In every scene she is in we see the emotions of loads of the other characters like her mum, Kim Changho etc. but very rarely her or her sister Kyunghee. This could be some sort of meta commentary on how underrepresented and oppressed women were but it still feels weird when the point of the book is to show a rare perspective on the situation of Japan and Korea throughout the 20th century.  Sunja seems like such an interesting character but I just want to see her opinions not how a minor character sees her. :( When it focusses on Noa or Mozasu we really get inside their heads and are shown what they think but as soon as Sunja meets Izak (her husband) it is like he becomes the main character.

That being said I have enjoyed the book so far.

[princessofbookaholics]

on my asian readathon tbr 🏮

[quotespile]

We cannot help but be interested in the stories of people that history pushes aside so thoughtlessly.

Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

[cutiebabie]

— Min Jin Lee

[haveyoureadthisbook-poll]

[litsnaps]

[ijustkindalikebooks]

Some of my favourite Pachinko covers.

[miment0]

i miss summer (i always do)

[cptrs]

[syjaann]

No one is clean. Living makes you dirty.

-Min Jin Lee

[wellconstructedsentences]

History has failed us, but no matter.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

[hvacinth]

books i've read in 2024: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

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.

[quotespile]

She wished she had something like baseball that she could talk about with her daughter — a safe subject they could visit without subtext or aggression.

Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

[bookmuseum]

“For people like us, home doesn’t exist.”

—Min Jin Lee, Pachinko (2017)

[litandlifequotes]

History has failed us, but no matter.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

[litsnaps]