Pachinko
OFF THE SHELF
Pachinko By Min Jin Lee
Everyone in the group enjoyed this book. One member said it was one of the best books she had read.
A Korean woman, Sunja, is the thread that runs through this story of a Korean family from 1910 until 1989. Korea was occupied by Japan and many people went to Japan looking for a better life. However, they were met with hostility, poverty and discrimination. The characters are strong, well-written and believable. This is especially so of Sunja. Her dignity, respect, and love of family fuel her determination to succeed and survive in a culture that despises her and her minority origins. The descriptions of places and situations really made the story come alive. We had long discussions about the characters and why they did what they did. Ultimately, we thought that this story of immigrants trying to integrate into a foreign society is very pertinent to today’s world and attitudes to refugees.
We highly recommend Pachinko and scored it at 8.9 – which I would round up to 9!
Patricia Coulthard