I loved this story, it’s lovely and educational. I didn’t know a lot about Korea and Japan before and you definitely get a good picture of how bad the situation was back then. The story is told over a lot of years with a lot of time jumps I didn’t like that much. On the other hand if they weren’t there the book would be endless. :) Not a lot is happening really, but I still enjoyed reading the story and wondered what would happen next. I recommend this book to everyone who has enough time to focus on this theme, not to someone who just enjoys quick reads or love stories.

"Learn everything. Fill your mind with knowledge—it’s the only kind of power no one can take away from you." This book will literally break your heart, glue the broken pieces back together just to break it again. At the end of every chapter, I was afraid of the next tragedy that could occur. However, there are a few things I did not really like, for example, the writing was at times quite rushed. If something happened, there was no time to process it because the next chapter already began and a new problem occurred. It was all very sudden to me. Nevertheless, this book gives a deep insight into Korea's history during its occupation by Japan. And there is no time for peace, love, and harmony, no! To imagine that the circumstances of the events are based on real Korean families who went to Japan to start a new life is simply heartbreaking. The protagonist and her family simply want to survive, whatever it takes. How one choice, one fatal decision change your life and the future of your family - this is a big conflict of the book. This book is harsh. You will not have a break where you can dry your tears. I wish more people (especially Western people) would read it.

Circe Buchclub Buch Januar 2024 Hatte Bedenken, dass das Buch so gar nichts für mich ist. Ich lese wirklich ungern und auch quasi gar keine historischen Bücher. Aber das war wirklich ganz beeindruckend. Ich habe gar keine Ahnung von dem Thema und hab gefühlt mein Wissen wenigstens ein bisschen erweitert und bin da sehr froh darüber. Ich bin Sunja-Ultra. Sie tut mir einfach nur leid und ich hab riesigen Respekt vor ihr, wie sie sich immer wieder aus allem rausgekämpft und nicht aufgegeben hat. Zwischendurch hatte es ein paar kleine Längen (ich glaube aber dass das daran liegen könnte, dass ich keinerlei Verbindung zur koreanischen oder japanischen Kultur habe), das ist Meckern auf hohem Niveau. Ich will Sunja einfach ganz fest in den Arm nehmen und ihr sagen, dass sie immer das Beste versucht hat.

Das Buch hat mich emotional so mitgenommen und auch manchmal verwirrt. Die Geschichte des tragischen Lebens von Sunja , die als eine Außenseiterin aufgrund ihrer Herkunft in Japan leben musste, ist eine herzzerreißende Geschichte, die ich nicht so schnell vergessen werde. Was mir an dem Buch aufgefallen ist, ist die Zeit, die hier schnell vergeht. Ich meine es fängt bei der Uroma an... Korea ein tolles Land, welches im Krieg sehr viel erleiden musste... Die Beschreibungen der Natur haben mich sehr fasziniert... ich muss sagen Lee schreibt außerordentlich gut. Am Ende des Buches ist mir klar geworden, wieso der Titel Pachinko heißt. Die Zukunft, die wir nie voraussehen können, ist wie das Spiel UNPREDICTABLE!!

Die Geschichte beginnt 1910 und endet 1989. Man durchlebt mit den Charakteren u.a. den zweiten Weltkrieg in Korea und Japan. Das Buch erzählt die Geschichte einer ganzen Familie & das über mehrere Generationen. Ich habe es sehr gerne gelesen. Es war interessant, die geschichtlichen Aspekte aus der koreanischen/japanischen Perspektive zu erleben.

mă bucur că am citit pachinko după free food for billionaires, fiindcă dacă aș fi făcut invers aș fi rămas dezamăgită. Pachinko mi-a captat atenția încă de la început și nu mai puteam să o las din mână încă de la primele capitole. În cartea asta ai tot ce îți trebuie: acțiune, istorie, personaje pe care nu știi dacă să le iubești sau să le urăști. Mi-a dat foarte mult de gândit cartea și chiar am simțit că mă atașez de personaje (am avut vreo trei momente în care am închis pur și simplu cartea și așteptam să procesez și SĂ ACCEPT ce se întâmplă). Nu am putut să îi dau cinci stele fiindcă mi s-a părut că ultima treime a cărții nu a dezvoltat sufcient personajele. Am citit într-un interviu cu autoarea că simte atunci când a venit timpul ca niște personaje să dispară. În cazul unora dintre ele, eu nu sunt de aceeași părere. Pot înțelege caracterul tragic pe care trebuie să îl aibă destinul lui Noah, dar lumea lui interioară putea să fie explorată cu mult mai mult. În plus, nu mi s-a părut necesară apariția unor personaje noi în ultima parte a cărții, motiv pentru care chiar mi s-a părut că devine plictisitoare. Lăsând la o parte aspectele astea negative, care sunt singurele lucruri care nu mi-au plăcut, Pachinko este printre cărțile care vor rămâne cu mine mult timp. Aș recomanda-o fără ezitare (deja am făcut-o :x) și mi-aș dori ca Min Jin Lee să fi scris o bibliotecă întreagă, fiindcă talentul ei de scriitoare face din orice poveste aparent banală și generică un lucru autentic, de care te poți bucura.

Pachinko is a novel that has been a once-in-a-lifetime reading experience to me! Learning a great deal about Korean-Japanese people over a long time-span encapsulating three generations, I was very much moved by Min Jin Lee´s evocative and inspiring narration that revolves around life and purpose. Much of the novel deals with the pressures immigrants face having a bi-lingual upbringing and multi-cultural identities. Historical facts around Korea and Japan are also very well researched, insightful in analysis and conveyed to the reader in bite-sized chunks. The interplay of characters in this family saga is well described with the narrator´s perspective switching from character to character. This omniscient point of view narration helps me as a reader to empathize much deeper with each character. I was able to dwell in the minds as well as the behaviours of all characters. I became very attached to Sunja, the protagonist of this great novel, whose plight in fate and despair as a woman moved me very much. I admired her magnetic beauty in her youth to her ever-resilient lifestyle as she ages. So much despair in the terrain of the unknown, and yet Sunja´s story is the catalyst of her family´s destiny spanning over decades! Absolutely recommending this book