Pachinko

 "We cannot help but be interested in the stories of people that history pushes aside so thoughtlessly."

Pachinko is a hauntingly-beautiful tale of a family mired in geopolitical war between (then)Korea & Japan.  It follows four generations of the family seeking to build their own identity in a country that refuses to acknowledge their humanity. Filthy, lazy and criminals became synonyms to a "Korean" for a Japanese. Pachinko, an infamous arcade parlor business, was the only chance a Korean had in Japan to rise to some success.

The author, Min Jin Lee, traces the lives of her characters along the historical shifts. The writing is fast paced covering a lot of historical details in the length of the book. For this reason, it was difficult for me to build a connect with the characters, of which the book has many! Except for one or two, the book doesn't dwell on any other characters for long and some seem to disappear unceremoniously, which left me wondering why I had to spend so much time getting to know that character in the first place. It fails to explore the depths of some critical characters (like Noa, no spoilers) and what drove them to do what they eventually did. In one chapter, I was getting to know things from one character's point of view and before I could build some empathy for that character, I was on the next chapter understanding someone else's point of view only to end the chapter with a similar feeling.

The story aside, this book was a hub of knowledge for me. I had no idea, whatsoever, of what went down between Japan & Korea, how North & South Korea came into being or how significantly it impacted the lives of millions of Koreans for years on end. How even a third or a fourth generation Japanese with Korean ancestry was not really considered a Japanese in the legal sense and how even the doors to Korea were bang shut for them. With no real identity and no means to build one, those misplaced Koreans forged on. People were imprisoned (and often died in the prisons) for not adhering to Japanese code of conduct with no rights to question the Japanese administration or any way for the family members to protect their dear ones trapped in such a situation.

"History has failed us, but no matter"

Learning about Korean history, if only a little, was an educational experience and for that I give this book 4 gleaming stars. If, like me, you're a novice to Korean history, this book could be a good place to start. 

With that and the knowledge that I no longer have to carry the burden of a pending book review, I'd now be able to peacefully read my next book "The Tea Rose" of which I wrote in my previous review. 

I promise not to slack on posting the next review! Till then, happy reading.