Min Jin Lee’s “Pachinko” was absolutely amazing, heart wrenching, gripping, and powerful. The four generations of stories are told with such feeling and meticulous detail, it’s as if you’re right alongside Sunja, Hansu, Isak, etc. I had already known many things about the history between Japan and Korea, but Min Jin Lee brings to light even more occurrences that have been silenced and swept under the rug for so long.
She brought so many taboo subjects and immense sufferings to the surface through her intricate writing and characters’ pensive thoughts, which I truly appreciated. I commend her for bringing such stories to life, and to our attention-to empathize, be aware of, and advocate for. After all, isn’t that what writing is all about?
On a side note, I would have to say that Noa was my favorite character. He had a love for literature and learning, kept to his duties and used honest methods to hopefully become assimilated and accepted into the country he was born in. Of course, he had his flaws-he abandoned his families and refused to even listen to others’ perspectives. Every character had tragedy in the midst of beauty-or, beauty amongst such tragedy-yet, such is life.