Pachinko
Drama, Family Saga, Historical Fiction
Min Jin Lee
4.13
Sadness
Empathy
Anger
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.
Reviews & Ratings
riyarhsn
Fri Jun 05 2026 02:05:35 · paperback
aashi321
Thu Jun 04 2026 11:41:45 · paperback
This book evoked such raw emotions within me. While reading the book, I came to see sunja as a friend instead of a mere character. Her life is so beautifully drawn out by Min jin. I felt sad and heartbroken at the life sunja was dealt with. Min jin has woken a fictional tale quite beautifully with the historical accuracy.
charlene
Tue May 19 2026 23:00:08 · paperback
I'd recommend this book to any age group, but more so adults. It becomes clearer that there are many layers to what was happening, and what caused events.
While it follows the life of a woman during wartime, it also depicts the reality of power imbalances, the mundane parts of life that fill in the "life-changing events" and how unspoken thoughts can pass on through generations simply through actions and behaviour.
I haven't read it more than once. It's one of those books that are heavy and take time to settle in your mind. And going back to it too quickly will not make it an enjoyable read. That is a personal experience and it is always interesting to see how other people have absorbed abook like this.
rashmi_ramesh
Sat Jan 10 2026 12:47:27 · paperback
No more reviews.