Book Review - Pachinko

Pachinko (n) - A Japanese form of pinball 

Now that we have the meaning of that word sorted, I'll wait for you to go see a Youtube video of how this game works before I go ahead with the review. Done? Got a good look at how it's played? Good, half my work here is done then!

The book Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee is a historical fiction of a Korean family across 4 generations of their lives amidst poverty, war torn countries and racial discrimination ....a rather bleak combination which in varying degrees forms the theme across the novel. Much like the game, Pachinko's characters too are tossed into various life situations that aren't in their control and  amidst the pins and rigs they have to go on to carve their identity. In the face of crisis, it is up to each of these characters to pick between persevering or surrendering to these situations that go on to define their lives. 

The story starts with Sunja, the daughter of a Korean farming family who live in Yeongdo, a small village on the southern coastal tip of Korea. At a young age, she falls in love with a man not only much older than her, but also a prominent mobster. Sunja is left betrayed when she gets pregnant and gets to know that he is married and has children of his own. With no foreseeable future in sight, Sunja is married off to a kind and religious pastor who then immigrate to Osaka, Japan to live with his brother and wife. It is from here that the entire family is thrown into poverty, the harsh discrimination that comes with Korean immigrants in Japan and an imminent war. 

The author splendidly portrays the family's struggle with money, as both Sunja and her sister in law begin to sell sweets and kimchi to support the family with additional income. They live in small Korean ghettos and do odd jobs around the city as they are unable to secure regular jobs due to their nationality. The women of the family are strong, hardworking and enterprising which strikes an emotional chord throughout the book. As Sunja's two children grow up amidst Japanese families, they each choose their survival methods, with Noa the elder son (from Sunja's lover) choosing to excel in studies to compensate for the lack of an identity among his classmates and younger Mozasu choosing to rebel everyone who stands in his way. Despite all odds, all they want is to lead a normal life where they can provide for their family. As the generations of Sunja grow up and progress, their lives flourish monetarily but the shadows of their nationality aren't far behind and continue to haunt them. 

For me, the descriptions of hardships faced by the women of the family really stood out. The author weaves sadness with endurance and undying hope in powerful prose which is probably the highlight of the book. She also raises a lot of questions around race and national identity which though based in the late 1900's, is still relevant today. While we all have read about the 2nd world war in our history books, no one took a magnifying glass across each of the countries involved in this war to find out their perspectives. For me, the Korean - Japanese angle to the 2nd world war was completely educational and opened up new chapters in history for me to explore. The author's research and detailed plot is commendable as is her easy and fast pace writing skills. Although a lengthy book, I found myself drawn to it every morning, eager to find out what happens next. 

However, I felt that taking the story up to 4 generations seemed a bit too far stretched and diluted many good characters for the sake of including others. This was probably the only thing I didn't enjoy about the book and really wished the author had spent more time on the main characters. I felt like some loose ends were left untied at the end of the book and in the want of a closure. All this aside,  I definitely recommend this book!

Happy Reading!

SSB