Pachinko is a family saga that takes place in Korea and Japan. It explores the dynamic between Koreans and Japanese in the early 20th century. I admit I knew little if anything about the life of Koreans who lived in Japan during this time. Asian history isn't something I've studied, and it certainly wasn't taught in any classes I took. So for me, this book was extremely educational. For that, I liked it very much.
However, the book is long. Way too long. I think the beginning of the book was excellent, and it could have ended there and I would have been happy. But the author continued through several generations of Koreans living in Japan, and so as the book progressed, new family members are added. And other abruptly die - often shockingly.
Overall, I think it's well written. However, the author often repeated herself which is one of my pet peeves. A woman would be described as extremely beautiful, and whenever that woman appeared afterwards, we would be reminded over and over of her beauty. Ok, already. I get it. There was a strong emphasis on women's looks. The other thing that bothered me is that chapters would skip ahead two years or four years, and often this shift in time would occur just as something really surprising and interesting was happening. I found this frustrating.
I read another review that said the first part was great, the middle was ok, and the last part was disappointing. I agree. So I recommend it for the historical perspective and the educational value. And that's it. -June
1 comment:
Pachinko...fascinating story, multi-layered intrigue.
Post a Comment