Finished reading Pachinko today after a month, not because I was reading it slowly, but because I deliberately kept delaying it as the pain became too much to process. The novel never becomes intense in a way that breaks you instantly, but its beauty lies in how it makes you feel the pain in the daily lives of the characters, the small rare wins followed by sharp snake fangs at times.
The relationship I found most intriguing throughout the book has to be between Hansu and Sunja. At first, I hated him and his selfishness, but by the end, I also felt a bit sorry for him. I wonder if he loved Sunja all his life but never fully realised the intensity of his own emotions because he was always too consumed with himself.
Another character that reminded me of a school friend was Hana. I wish no little girl ever has to go through something like that.
While this book is not my absolute favourite, it did make me cry bitterly while going through the last few pages. A part of me wished for some sort of a redemption at the end of this 500+ page journey, which never arrived.
Maybe I need to pick up something a bit more cheerful for my next read!
by Waste_Project_7864
2 Comments
That book absolutely destroyed me emotionally and I still think about it months later. The way Min Jin Lee just layers on the generational trauma without giving you much relief is brutal but so effective
Your take on Hansu is spot on – hes such a complex character because you can see glimpses of genuine feeling buried under all that narcissism and manipulation. Like he probably did love her in his own twisted way but was just too damaged to express it properly
And yeah definitely go for something lighter next haha I made the mistake of jumping straight into another heavy literary fiction after this and it was way too much. Sometimes you just need a palate cleanser
I cannot even put into words how much I loved that book.
I was also very ignorant about the history between Japan and Korea before reading it, which has sent me down a very educational rabbit hole.
I also really enjoyed the tv series. I was anxious to even start it, because oftentimes they obviously mess these things up. But I found it almost as beautiful as the book!