Book Club- Pachinko

I am so used to reading the same stories. When I was younger, I only read books with white protagonists. Stories like Twilight, Hunger Games, Harry Potter and Nicholas Sparks novels (classics btw) littered my novice bookshelf. When I got older and was first introduced to Toni Morrison and Alice Walker I was a goner. Since then I have always gravitated towards black stories. That is not to say I don’t read novels with white protagonists anymore but I have since broadened my taste. However, I still feel like my reading is very black or white (literally). Which is why I wanted to try something different. I wanted to read about other people and their cultures.

Before I read Pachinko I did a little research on Min Jin Lee. Miss Lee talked a bit about what led her to write this story and the extensive research that ensued. She also brought up a lot of tragedies, one of them being a Korean boy who was bullied so much in school that he jumped from his 7th-floor window. Just 13 years old. Suffering so much in silence that his only solace was death. Struck by this, I automatically wanted to know more about Korean and Japanese history, especially it’s painful past.

Novel’s format

This book is divided into three parts. Book one starts with a small family from Gohyang. Sunja, the daughter of Honnie and Yangjin, meets Hansu at 16 and becomes pregnant. Her fairytale ends when she realizes Hansu is much older and married. Which means they can never be together. The sickly Priest Baek Issac comes to her rescue and at the end of book one, Sunja gives birth to Nao.

The novel does an excellent job portraying a fictional family alongside realistic historical events. In 1910 behind the young Sunja’s difficult dilemma we also get an introduction of Japan and Korea’s discourse.

In Book 2 Nao’s little brother, Mozasu is born. Both brothers are complete opposites. Nao, although he resembles his biological father, Hansu physically, spiritually is the carbon copy of Issac; studious and kind. Mozasu is powerful and intense. Mozasu doesn’t finish school and instead drops to work at a Pachinko Parlor. An occupation that is deemed disrespectful.

In Book 3 the family saga spirals some more as Nao and Mozasu start their own lives and families and their destinies become more and more chaotic. Nao is living a new life coveted and Mozasu is getting everything he’s always dreamed of but not without a couple of tragedies.

I think the title of this novel is brilliant. Maybe Im reading too much into it but I believe it fits the story so well once you realize what Pachinko is. Pachinko is a famous Japanese pinball game that could be played in an arcade but is most famously known as a gambling device. Think of it as a slot machine in Western casinos. When I watched a YouTube video on the famous game; the clanking of metal balls across the board reminded me a lot of the characters. Behind the loud noise and ringing sounds were Nao, Mozasu, Hansu, and Sunja. Some balls entering the right holes in life and others losing more than what they bargained for.

Overall…

There is no happy ending for any of the characters. There is just acceptance of past mistakes, sorrow, and uncertainty. Everybody goes a route the audience never really expects and it really made me close the book a little unsatisfied. Not because it wasnt good, but because I wanted more. I felt like watching these characters grow I deserved to see the remaining trajectory of their lives right?

The book had many prevalent themes but one that I felt was most relevant was identity. The characters struggle a lot with accepting who they are and that translated a lot into their family dynamics. Being stateless messes with one’s self-worth and I felt like this novel showcased that. It’s interesting to learn how Koreans were treated and how much hasn’t changed in regards to how society treats immigrants. I guess to me this is where the similarities lie when contrasting this story to black stories. Being treated so cruelly by people that think they’re superior to you.

Have you read my last post?