Pachinko follows one Korean family through the generations, beginning in early 1900s Korea with Sunja, the prized daughter of a poor yet proud family, whose unplanned pregnancy threatens to shame them all. Deserted by her lover, Sunja is saved when a young tubercular minister offers to marry and bring her to Japan. So begins a sweeping saga of an exceptional family in exile from its homeland and caught in the indifferent arc of history. Through desperate struggles and hard-won triumphs, its members are bound together by deep roots as they face enduring questions of faith, family, and identity.
This is a beautifully-written novel that is clearly meticulously-researched; it spans several decades and each is drawn so richly. I must admit that I have only a surface understanding of 20th century East Asian history so I can't speak to the historical accuracy, but Lee writes so beautifully about the war and the discrimination four generations of the Baek family faced as Koreans living in Japan. The strength of the family bond is so clear; their pain and triumphs feel real. My main complaints are that certain storylines and characters dropped off rather abruptly (especially when the focus shifted to the next generation). Some major character deaths were announced only as an afterthought, though we had spent so much time with them throughout the novel. And at times it did seem a bit melodramatic - I mean, I'm fine to believe that this family suffered, but the combination of Isak dying young, Noa killing himself, Yumi dying in the car accident, and then Hana dying of AIDS was maybe piling it on a bit much? But overall I thought this was such a quietly gorgeous, compelling novel. It's not very exciting or fast-paced, but it's lovely.
