Pachinko (National Book Award Finalist)

Written by Min Jin Lee

Narrated by Min Jin Lee and Sandra Oh

One of the New York Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century

In this New York Times bestseller, four generations of a poor Korean immigrant family fight to control their destiny in 20th-century Japan–the inspiration for the television series on Apple TV+.

 In the early 1900s, teenaged Sunja, the adored daughter of a crippled fisherman, falls for a wealthy stranger. When she discovers she is pregnant–and that her lover is married–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.

Profoundly moving, Pachinko is a story of love, sacrifice, ambition, and loyalty. 

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

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hachette Audio
• Release date: Oct 1, 2024
• ISBN: 9781668648315

Min Jin Lee

MIN JIN LEE is the author of the novels Free Food for Millionaires and Pachinko, a finalist for the National Book Award and runner-up for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Lee is the recipient of the 2022 Manhae Grand Prize for Literature from South Korea and of fellowships in fiction from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study at Harvard University, and the New York Foundation for the Arts. She is a writer-in-residence at Amherst College and serves as a trustee of PEN America and a director of the Authors Guild. She is at work on her third novel, American Hagwon, and a nonfiction work, Name Recognition.

Reviews for Pachinko (National Book Award Finalist)

[Ann Bush · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this book for my book club. It was interesting to read about a family of immigrants living in a foreign country. But I was pretty disgusted about the language and the sex in the book. The book would have been great without them but they distracted me from the story.

[Atlas Growing · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of my favorite books. What a stunning beautiful story, the fabric of this story is love.

[bodachliath · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This epic story following a family of Koreans from 1910 to 1989 is a surprisingly easy read for such a long book. The language is deceptively simple apart from the borrowed Korean and Japanese words for which a glossary might have been helpful, as in most cases they are not explained.

The story starts on the small island of Yeongdo near the Korean port city of Busan in 1910, the year Japan annexed Korea. This is where its central character Sunja is born to a couple who run a small boarding house. She becomes pregnant at 15 with the child of a rich man who turns out to be a married gangster, and is spared when a travelling minister takes pity on her and marries her, taking her to Japan where he has a job in Osaka. This is just the start of a complicated story that embodies the collective experiences of Japan's downtrodden Korean population.

I liked some of this book a lot - much of the social history was new to me and some of the characters were well drawn though others seemed more like ciphers and I got a bit bored with some of the modern part of the story.

For the uninitiated, pachinko is a form of vertical pinball which became popular in Japan because it was one of the few legal forms of gambling and pachinko parlours are predominantly owned by Koreans. The metaphor of pachinko as a model for life, with plenty of ups and downs and very few winners, is spelled out a little too clearly.

Overall I found this book enjoyable so I don't want to be too harsh on it.

[krau0098 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I borrowed this on ebook from the library.

Thoughts: This reminded me a lot of "Wild Swans" by Jung Chang. I liked this book, but I enjoyed "Wild Swans" more. While "Wild Swans" is a memoir that focuses on three generations of women in China, this story is a historical fiction that focuses on multiple generations of Koreans that result from a Korean woman migrating to Japan.

Most of the story is somehow connected to Sunja, a teen Korean girl who gets pregnant from a lover in the early 1900's. Sunja decides to marry a weak and ill pastor who offers to pose as the child's father in exchange for marrying Sunja and having her migrate to Japan with him. This sets off a whole series of events for both Sunja, her resulting sons, and her grandson.

I really enjoyed learning more about the history of Korea and Japan. This is an area of history I don't know a lot about, but it was interesting to learn about. It was also very interesting (being an American) to see the perception of historical events in Korea and Japan from the early 1900's to the 1990's from a Korean perspective.

The story is engaging and easy to follow. I really enjoyed maybe the first two thirds of the book. The last third is a lot more disconnected from Sunja and spends more time with her grandson, Solomon. This started to feel very disconnected from the original story to me and felt unnecessary. It made the book feel longer than needed, and I started to wonder what the point was.

While I struggled with a lot of decisions the characters made here, I appreciated how real they seemed to me. A lot of decisions here were made to satisfy the abstract notion of honor rather than the more concrete notion of survival. For example, I cannot imagine a husband forcing his family to starve because he is not willing to let his wife work...especially when she has a perfectly respectable way to make an income (in this case selling food to a restaurant). The story definitely shows a lot of examples of strong women and the men that try to hold them back.

You can't help but compare this to "Wild Swans" by Jung Chang (I would highly recommend Wild Swans if you enjoy this kind of historical fictions). I enjoyed Wild Swans more for a few reasons; it is a memoir...so non-fiction, it deals with a lot more tumultuous historical events in a head-on way, the characters are more engaging and intriguing. Pachinko takes more of a "day in the life" approach. The characters here live through and are somewhat aware of important historical events but they aren't as present and are more focused on their day to day lives. Sunja having a connection with a "yakuza" also shelters these characters from many harsh realities happening; she has a sort of diabolical angel on her shoulder protecting those and those she loves. Wild Swan's characters are very much in the thick of everything and the author doesn't shy away from the horrible things they had to endure.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I liked this and am glad I read it. It was intriguing to learn more about the history of Korea and how Japan subjugated the Koreans and to see the events of this time period from a Korean perspective. I did think the book went on a bit too long. As we shift to the perspective of Sunja's grandson things are less interesting and seem a bit disconnected from our main character. I would also recommend reading "Wild Swans" by Jung Chang if you are intrigued by historical China and women's roles in that era.

[jamestomasino · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I wanted this to develop into more than it was but it ultimately end up feeling like "and then... and then... and then...".

[creighley_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Four generations of a poor Korean immigrant family fit he to control throne destiny in twentieth century Japan.
In the early 1900s, teenaged Sunja, the adored daughter of a crippled fisherman, falls for a wealthy stranger. When she discovers she is pregnant-and that her lover is married-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.

[wolfeyluvr · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I couldn't put it down most of the time. And couldn't stop thinking about when I'd have time next to read more. Perhaps I need to read more historical fiction. The parts through WWII I have zero complaints about. The more modern the time period became the more scattered the story felt. After reading the afterward I believe its because the author was trying to incorporate moments gathered from her many interviews but it just didnt blend together as well.

All in all an excellent read and I do recommend it. I never would have learned about the experiences of Koreans in Japan without it. It also brought to my attention that I have not heard much of WWII from perspectives that aren't European or American.

[bookwyrmm_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As the years go on in this sweeping family saga, the number of characters naturally increases, and it becomes hard to keep everyone straight.

[onniadda · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was swept into this generational saga by the first page. I felt the waves sprayed across my skin from Yeongdo. I tasted the bitterness of inconsolable grief and regret time and time again. I was constantly worried about Noa, Mozasu and all the other miscellaneous characters in this epic tale of what it means to truly find a home. This book had me shook. NAH! I WAS SHOOKTH! Every character is portrayed in with such nuisances and distinction that it was impossible not to feel anything including someone like Hansu. If that wasn't enough there are also layers upon layers like socioeconomics, gender and politics,spirituality,and the dynamics of group think in a society. It really is a fascinating read, but please take small breaks between chapters to recuperate mentally. Please take that under advisement before any extensive reading. Happy Holidays!

[countrylife_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Covering seventy years of a family of Koreans living in Japan, their trials and successes, the culture differences, this would have been a five star read for me, were it not for the distasteful mixture of lewd language throughout the book alongside the story of the Korean pastor and his family.

[soniabi · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

LOGBOOK: 05/18/2024
Asian literature "with slanted eyes," like its culture, is distinct and if you're not used to reading it, you might find it overwhelming like I did. Difficult names, very machista and classist behaviors, too many social rules, and above all, discrimination against anything that strays slightly from the established standards.

Fortunately, this book makes the issue of names easy. There are few characters, and those who are not important are not given names. As for everything else, I’m sorry, but you will find it in abundance.

The story spans from 1910 to 1989. It focuses on a Korean family that had to emigrate to Japan during colonization, their struggle for survival, and the discrimination they suffered from the Japanese, who never considered them citizens of that country, not even the children or grandchildren born in Japan many years later.

But perhaps what struck me the most and I want to highlight is the very flat way it is narrated. I understand that it may be a cultural issue not to externalize feelings, but for an important character to die and to have a paragraph break without shedding a tear feels very "Asian." I think it’s the most tragic and least sentimental book I have ever read. It took me more than half the book to get used to this, and it's not a short book.

In the end, I managed to enjoy it and shed a few tears. (Translated from Spanish)

[indygo88 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Beginning in the early 1900s and progressing into the late 198os, this is the story of a Korean family, centering around the character of Sunja, who, because of dire circumstances, moves to Japan and must navigate her way in a country that doesn't seem to want her or others of her kind. As generations pass and relationships evolve, the hope is that Japan will become more accepting of those they consider outsiders. But do things ever really change?

I know that I'm late to the party on this one. I'd been looking forward to this read, as it's garnered a fair amount of hype and good reviews. This book started out strong. It's divided into three parts, and I really enjoyed the first, which tells of Sunja's younger years in Korea and progresses to the point when she leaves her homeland behind. Sunja's story continues into parts 2 and 3, but these focus more on her family -- her children and her children's children. Throughout, there is a strong theme of how the Japanese consider the Korean people inferior. This book educated me, as I really didn't know much at all about the Japanese/Korean relationship. However, I did feel that the book was longer than it needed to be, and I became less engaged as it progressed. Part 1 was really the most well-written, and I felt that it went downhill, to a degree, from there. Not a bad book by any means, but if I'm honest, it didn't quite live up to my high expectations.

[moosenoose · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Beautifully written and covering a very interesting historical period that I knew little about. The earlier elements of the book were definitely the most captivating for me but I felt my interest taper off as I moved through the decades. Pages were dedicated to random characters who disappeared as quickly as they arrived, either without further mention or with very little detail on how their lives progressed. This made it difficult to connect to the characters, knowing they might just vanish without explanation. This has not stayed with me as other stories have and I struggle to recall all of the characters and the roles they played, hence the 3/5 rating.

[maggieflo_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The first half of this book is very compelling as it tells the story of Sunja, a Korean teenager who lives with her widowed mother in a fishing village near Busan in Korea around 1930. They make ends meet by providing room and board to fishermen and producing their own food.. Sunja falls prey to the charms of the new fish broker Koh Hansu and when she discovers she is pregnant, his solution is to set her up as his mistress in Japan. Sanjus’s humiliation is resolved when a visiting pastor Isak Baek marries her and takes her to Osaka to live with his brother Yoseb. Both families thrive as they work hard, support each other and learn how to adjust to discrimination as refugees in hostile Japanese society.
In the background, Koh Hansu becomes very wealthy and keeps a watchful eye on his son Noa and his mother Sunja. As WWII breaks out in Japan, the family escapes to a farm and service through their hard work and love for their children and each other.
The family hopes to return to Korea but the advice they get from Hansu is that they cannot go back as the north has been taken over by communists and in the south, people are starving and landless.
The treatment of Koreans in Japan does not improve as they become successful and even those children born in Japan cannot expect to be treated as equals. The xenophobia of the Japanese population is clearly laid out in this story
The problem is with the second half of the book. It became more like a soap opera as it deals with the love lives, tribulations and successes of the next two generations.
Otherwise, it’s a good book.

[zmagic69 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Overall a very well told story, sadly the last quarter of it does seem rushed, with some characters never finalized like Haruki and his wife.
The Japanese were never held accountable for all of the horrendous shit they did in the first half of the 20th century, and a large part of this book is centered around their behavior. Still the book is a fascinating glimpse into Koreans and their world view, as well as the Japanese and how the two live and interact in Japan and in the world.

[terran_9 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

To begin with, I learned so much from this book about Korean and Japanese history in the early 20th century. That alone made it a very worthwhile read. In addition, the characters are so realistically drawn that I felt they could have existed. At the same time, their social and economic situations were so miserable that I had a hard time believing that their experiences were typical of every Korean who moved to Japan in that time period.
The fact that the original focus was on women explained some of the isolated feelings I got. There was sexism, a language barrier, an economic barrier to overcome, and religious prejudice against Christians. However, even when the focus shifted to the sons of the next generation who learned the language and made more money, the feeling of isolation continued. Perhaps I need to read more about Korean-Japanese (Japanese Koreans?) to determine if the situation has changed.

[steve02476 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I learned a lot, and it held my interest. But so long! A bit soapier than I’d prefer. But a helluva story.

[IsidoraM · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A book that gathers the pain and suffering of Koreans who had to be expatriated; in each of its characters, one can see the embodiment of some value that predicts their fate. (Translated from Spanish)

[gbill_7 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

If you want a plot-driven book that tells the story of a Korean family over many decades, this might be for you, but for my taste, it was a wasted opportunity. It’s a book that reads like a made for TV movie, focusing on melodrama like a soap opera, rather than offering interesting insights or any kind of depth. It began losing my respect the moment a character who had disappeared dramatically showed up again, and lost more when big plot moments were dropped on the reader in the laziest of ways, until the book spiraled over its final third, increasingly relying on sex as a crutch.

“Akiko adored rough sex, foreign books, and talking,” Lee writes breathlessly in one of her more banal attempts at character development. “…she sent Noriko off to a toruko where she would have to bathe and serve men in the nude until she was too old to work that job. Her tits and ass would last a half a dozen years at most in the hot water,” she blithely writes off another. After a reasonably good start, there were times I laughed out loud at the writing.

One of the big misses was that it didn’t really transport me back to the 1930-1950’s in the earlier portions of the book, in part because the dialogue is written in the vernacular of today, and in part because a lot of the historical context is barely touched upon. Overall, it’s just not that intelligent or inspired, and honestly, it felt like anyone could have written it.

[paroof · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This historical fiction/family saga book was the first I had read featuring the Korean experience in Japan. It was interesting, I learned much, and I'm glad I read it.

However, I didn't love it like I have some other great general sagas like Middlesex, The Joy Luck Club, [The Good Earth], and Postcards to name a few of my favorites. It took me a long time to read it and even put it down to read another book in the middle. This was not all due the fact that I wasn't in love with the book, I just had other things going on.

So, overall I thought it was good and am glad I read it. I see so many people who love it and it won several awards. Recommended.

[charlie68_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I thought the prose adequate but not spectacular and overall story line fast but not particularly deep. Characters come and go with much chance for the reader to really care about them.

[laytonwoman3rd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Generational fiction about ethnic Koreans and their struggles as immigrants in Japan, where they were discriminated against throughout the 20th century (and possibly still are). I guess there's really nothing new or unique in the world. People are people, and Us vs. Them is just everywhere. As is fairly common with this type of novel, some characters and story lines get short shrift, and narrative tension is lacking in parts. I also found the author's voice a little too apparent as the omniscient narrator makes the same point over and over through different characters. A little more subtlety, a little more editing, and this could have been a five star read for me.

[castlelass · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Multigenerational family saga set in Korea and Japan covering the period 1910 to 1989. A Korean family operates a boardinghouse in Yeongdo. The daughter, Sunja, gets pregnant, but the of her baby is a gangster and is already married. One of the boarders, a kind-hearted minister, marries her and takes her to his home in Japan. The story revolves around Sunja, her parents, sons, and a grandchild.

This book explores the prejudice experienced by Korean immigrants in Japan. Themes include identity, fate, self-sacrifice, and family secrets. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Allison Hiroto. She has a pleasant voice and enunciates clearly.

I enjoyed the first half more than the second. At one point, it veers off the main family story to cover a friend’s family in much more detail than expected. There are random scenes of sex and violence that seem unnecessary. Pachinko is a game of chance, and it represents the outcomes in life for the characters – some win but most lose.

[cbl_tn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This family saga follows four generations of a Korean family through most of the 20th century, first in Korea under Japanese occupation, and later in Japan, where the Japanese discriminated against Korean immigrants. Teen-aged Sunja becomes pregnant by an older Korean businessman who, as the adopted son of a wealthy Japanese family, maintains ties in both Korea and Japan. Rather than become Hansu’s mistress, Sunja accepts an offer of marriage from a kind and gentle minister, Isak. Despite their differences in personality and temperament, Noa, Sunja’s son by Hansu, and Mozasu, Sunja’s son by Isak, end up in similar circumstances in the world of pachinko.

I was immersed in the setting and the characters’ lives from the very beginning. I found the religious aspect of the novel intriguing, and the status of Korean immigrants in Japan was new to me. This book will appeal to readers who enjoy family sagas and historical novels with a strong sense of place.

[ghr4 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko is a wonderful multi-generational story that illuminates 20th century life in Korea, and the stigmatization and discrimination suffered by Koreans who emigrated to Japan. With myriad moments of the simple joys of life and family, inevitably counterbalanced by profound and heartbreaking sorrows, Pachinko often echoes the tone and style of Pearl S. Buck’s classic novel The Good Earth depicting a portrait of life in China during the days of its last emperor.

[Pili Torres · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A bitter story. Four generations of a Korean family trying to get by during the Japanese occupation. Bitter tales, forbidden loves, traditions, survival... a constant struggle to try and get ahead, and not be a second-class citizen for being of Korean descent. A highly recommended, heartfelt read. (Translated from Spanish)

[Tefi 1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent novel, very interesting. I recommend it. (Translated from Spanish)

[akblanchard_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Four generations of a Korean family in Japan desperately seek happiness, food, and jobs in an inhospitable land. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, they have an organized crime (Yakuza) boss on their side.

This novel is a particularly sudsy soap opera in the tradition of The Thorn Birds. The old-fashioned, third-person omniscient narration was annoying. I was expecting something more complex and more literary.

[kimreadthis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this, with the time shifting and learning a bit about the history between Korea and Japan.

[deslivres5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Historical fiction family saga spanning early 1900s to the 1990s. It follows a family from Korea under Japanese rule, to the family's immigration to Japan where, as Koreans, they are treated as second-class and face discrimination in all facets of life. Pachinko parlors, successes and heartache snake through the family for several generation.

I had known about the annexation of Korea by Japan, but I never knew about the plight of Koreans in Japan proper.

The talk of/treatment of women, both Korean and Japanese, by some men, was worrisome.

One thing with the pacing which bothered me were the "unceremonious" deaths, several important deaths which occur but are related after the fact, which seem to be "pounced" on the reader, sort of off screen. I guess I wished these were more in the forefront of the narrative.