BOOK OF THE MONTH
Pachinko (National Book Award Finalist)
NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2017 * A USA TODAY TOP TEN OF 2017 * JULY PICK FOR THE PBS NEWSHOUR-NEW YORK TIMES BOOK CLUB NOW READ THIS * FINALIST FOR THE 2018DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE* WINNER OF THE MEDICI BOOK CLUB PRIZE
Roxane Gay's Favorite Book of 2017, Washington Post
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * #1 BOSTON GLOBE BESTSELLER * USA TODAY BESTSELLER * WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER * WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER
There could only be a few winners, and a lot of losers. And yet we played on, because we had hope that we might be the lucky ones.
In the early 1900s, teenaged Sunja, the adored daughter of a crippled fisherman, falls for a wealthy stranger at the seashore near her home in Korea. He promises her the world, but when she discovers she is pregnant--and that her lover is married--she refuses to be bought. Instead, she accepts an offer of marriage from a gentle, sickly minister passing through on his way to Japan. But her decision to abandon her home, and to reject her son's powerful father, sets off a dramatic saga that will echo down through the generations.
Richly told and profoundly moving, Pachinko is a story of love, sacrifice, ambition, and loyalty. From bustling street markets to the halls of Japan's finest universities to the pachinko parlors of the criminal underworld, Lee's complex and passionate characters--strong, stubborn women, devoted sisters and sons, fathers shaken by moral crisis--survive and thrive against the indifferent arc of history.
*Includes reading group guide*
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
What Bookclubbers are saying about this book
✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say *Pachinko* is a deeply moving multigenerational saga that vividly portrays Korean immigrant experiences in Japan, emphasizing family, iden...
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
485 pages
What’s it about?
This novel follows four generations of one Korean family from the early 1900's in Korea to the late 1980's in Japan. The novel begins auspiciously with, "History has failed us, but no matter." and continues barreling forward from there. Min Jin Lee previously wrote "Free Food for Millionaires". In this, her second novel , she further distinguishes herself as a writer to watch.
What did it make me think about?
Is racism literally everywhere? I knew so little about Korean history. This book shows us, through Min Jin Lee's wonderfully drawn characters, some of the recent history of Korea. Especially the complicated relationship between Korea and Japan. Min Jin Lee writes a masterful novel about the lives of one Korean family.
Should I read it?
This was a very good multi-generational sweeping saga. I especially love a book that informs you at the same time it is entertaining you. I recommend that you find some time and curl up on the couch with this one!
Quote-
"In Seoul, people like me get called Japanese bastard, and in Japan, I'm just another dirty Korean no matter how much money I make, or how nice I am."
If you liked this try-
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson
Ruby by Cynthia Bond
The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman
Edit: I read this a second time for my book club and I am glad I did. I got a lot more out of it the second go round. Don’t miss the interview with the author at the end.
I really enjoyed the book a lot more than I thought I would. It was beautifully written and I loved following the family through so many years and generations. Each character was well written and I felt like I knew all of them.
I highly recommend this book.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.