Pachinko is an epic historical saga following a Korean family through four generations as they fight for survival in Korea and Japan. At its heart, the book is a tribute to the immigrant experience and the need in all of us to find a place that we can call home and feel like we truly belong.
The portrayal of what it's like to be a Korean living in Japan while the Japanese viewed them with loathing and knowing that Koreans back home viewed them as traitors is visceral and haunting. The author managed to depict each character with so much humanity while their circumstances strove to strip that from them. I didn't know much going in about the conflict between the Japanese and Koreans, and it was eye-opening to learn the feelings of hostility and resentment that endured even decades after the war had ended.
The book also captures so much of immigrants' hopes and dreams for their children to live a happy life free from war and famine. The author masterfully delves into the search for success and belonging while having to make unthinkable trade-offs.
The writing style is straightforward and beautifully stirring. For such a long book, I was hooked from page one, and I finished it surprisingly quick. I found the first half of the book to be slightly more compelling, as it focused on just a few characters and I was able to feel closer to them. As the book went on, more characters are introduced in the second half as the family gets larger through the generations, and flipping back and forth between different people lost some of the book's urgency and brisk forward motion. But that is really a small quibble in this stunning literary piece.
Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!
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