A long but very thought provoking story which I enjoyed immensely.

In Yeong-do in Busan, South Korea, a humble couple run a boardinghouse for fishermen and manual workers at the port. Hoonie is gentle and loving, but marked by his hare lip and twisted leg, while his wife Yanjin is a thrifty, practical hostess. Their daughter Sunja, their only surviving child, is the love of both their lives and, after Hoonie’s death, it falls to Yanjin to raise her daughter alone while also running a business. Sunja is not beautiful but her sturdiness and hard work hide a dreamer’s soul. Beguiled by the prosperous Koh Hanso, she becomes pregnant by him, only to learn that he has a wife and children in his adopted hometown of Osaka. Having fallen at the first hurdle, having shamed herself and her ancestors, and ruined every hope for her future, Sunja retreats into abject misery; but help comes from the most unexpected quarter. Their sickly guest, the Christian pastor Isak Baek, is on his way to minister in a church in Osaka and he offers to marry Sunja, shielding her shame with his name and raising her child as his own. Overwhelmed by such kindness, Sunja goes with him, exchanging her humble but clean village life for the more competitive, harsh and challenging existence in a foreign city, where Koreans are regarded as second-class citizens and life will be a constant battle for vindication.

Don’t be put off, as I nearly was, by the description of this book as a ‘family saga’, which conjures up images of Dynasty. It packs a powerful punch while still being very engaging and well-written. This is a powerful tale of resilience, oppression – whether of Koreans by Japanese, women by men, or Christians by other faiths – and the sacrifices we make to ensure our children have better lives. Yet it’s also instructive as a fictional introduction to the invasion of Korean by Japan, the resulting Korean diaspora, the social tensions that arose from this, and the vacuum of authority in Korea after the Japanese withdrawal that led to the war and the miserable division we see in the Korean peninsula today. Its primary legacy, for me, has been to highlight how shamefully little I know of the lives of people from this region of the world in the 20th century, and it has done much to give me a clearer idea of the relationship between Korea, Japan, China and the wider world.

For the full review, please visit my blog at the link given below:
https://theidlewoman.net/2017/01/19/pachinko-min-jin-lee/

Beautiful story told through the eyes of generations of family. Incredibly interesting insight into the lost generations of Koreans in Japan, an aspect of Asian history you rarely encounter.

A Korean version of Jane Smiley or Anne Tyler in being a novel following the fortunes of one family across the generations. It begins in a folk tale/traditional tale mode taking place in a small Korean village but ends up in a globalised world. The traditional tale elements reminded me of the Korean writer Sun-Mi Hwang author of The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly"
Its a book about identity (including nationality, religious, gender and social identity) told through the lives of the different generations of the same family. Sunja is at the beating heart of the book. Her life turns on her seduction by a wealthy man when only a young poor girl.
We experience the changes due to the annexation of Korea by Japan, World War 2 and the division of the home country through the characters' lives (although I don't remember much reference to the Korean War in 1953). The prejudice and discrimination against the Koreans is seen through the characters’ lives all the way to the end of the book.

The game of Pachinko (an industry in which several characters get involved) adds a metaphor for a life in which people in "power" can adjust the odds to suit them and "there could only be a few winners and a lot of losers"
. Part of what is engaging about this book is the way we feel deeply for the characters and understand their motivations even when we don't agree with their actions (e.g what happens to Noa). I am in admiration for the stoicism of Sunja through the hard times. She reminds me a bit of Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles in being seduced and then trying to do the best to make a living for her family and losing the chance of happiness with a second partner.

This may have been a long novel at nearly 500 pages but it felt like returning "home" each time I picked it up again. It's a book about seemingly "ordinary " people who are extraordinary in their own way.
 "Maybe my life can be significant, not on as grand scale like my brother, but to a few people " says Isak at one point. This is a message to those of us who don't appear to have made any "difference" by being famous/powerful that we can each lead a valuable life ( more a Buddhist than a Christian philosophy perhaps?)

In terms of the style the author has a simple lucid style. One character says "it was always better to say less". By saying less the author in fact speaks volumes. This is what I sometimes call "iceberg" writing, in that the author shows the "tip" of the iceberg but "implies" what else is below the waterline.

I know I will return to this book at different times in my life and draw from its well of quiet wisdom.

I loved every page. An epic, family saga to savour. Set in both Korea and Japan it highlights how the Koreans suffered under Japanese occupation. This was an area of history I was unaware of and I was surprised at the racism towards Korean refugees. The characters are well drawn out as they are the essence and heart of the story with the history of the 20th centurary in the background providing the context and detail in this well researched novel. It reminded me of Wild Swans beautiful and evocative

The first book I read this year and definitely one going into my list of favorite books. 
I usually don't read much books which mix history events with fiction because they are often too loaded on the history part, which tend to bore me but I was pleasantly surprised by Pachinko. It is a family saga which follows a Korean family through the years, starting from 1910 when Japan anexed Korea to contemporary years. We get to have a glimpse how things were to the Koreans people during all these tough years and their feeling about the separation of what we know now as the two Koreas. The characters are very well portrayed and the story is well documented without being too historical.

I will definitely check more of Min Jin Lee's books in the future.

A rich family saga which provides readers with not only a gripping storyline but also, will serve as an eye-opener to Westerners as to how intolerant the Japanese were of Korean immigrants. The story follows the life of Sunja - a Korean - and spans most of the 20th century. We follow her as she moves to Osaka where she and her family struggle to adapt and survive. Over the decades the family suffers both hardship and good fortune and ultimately seem to find success. But is it all an illusion? Is Sunja making her own luck or does she have a guardian angel? When her son Noa achieves his dream of getting a place at University are his dreams about to come true? Does Mozasu, Sunja's 2nd son, really achieve success and respect in the Pachinko business from which the book takes it's title? Will the Japanese come to respect Koreans and their culture? Many questions to which all the answers are to be found in this excellently written novel by Min Jin Lee.