Pachinko by Min Jin Lee- Book Review

This is probably something I shouldn't admit, but when I saw the description of this book for this month's Book of the Month, it seemed an instant pass. I am not a huge fan of historical fiction, books that go several generations, or books that are described as people going through lots of struggles. So, I passed on this for Book of the Month, but then NetGalley showed up and I had been approved to review this.

The great news is, I really enjoyed this book even though it was not my preferred genre. Story and writing drove this great book as well as a topic that is in my wheelhouse, but not one that I would think about.

As stated, this is a several generations story of a Korean family living in Japan. It begins in the 1900s with Sunja, a young Korean girl who falls for a fast talking man who brings exotic gifts and seduces her with promises. After he sleeps with her and takes off, she finds herself pregnant. When he returns, he reveals he has another family and cannot be with her.

As an Asian single, pregnant woman in the 1900s, her life is essentially destroyed until she meets a Presbyterian minister who takes pity on her, marries her, and brings her to Japan with him.

This is how the book begins and it seems a straightforward story, except Koreans are not welcome in Japan, so the family experiences a deep seated racism. We also are in a time when the Emperor is worshipped as a deity, so being part of a Christian family also brings struggle for Sunja's family. We will journey with her family through WWII and beyond.

As stated, this was not my type of book from the outset, so I went into the book very reluctantly. I am also going to state this is not an easy book as it is filled with struggle as the family takes hit after hit, even when they get themselves out of a jam, another one will spring up shortly. Yet, the writing and the character creation drive this story. Lee's characters are real and are flawed even in their triumphs. While there are woes, it isn't a "woe is me" type story. It is about people trying to get by in a world that is not their own while trying to make it their own.

If there is one critique, it is a very minor one. Due to how the Japanese members of society will treat the family, one issue that keeps coming up is the misspelling or the misstatement of the family name. The Japanese members will often say the character's names incorrectly and if you zone out a bit while reading, you may not pick up on this and wonder when the characters switched.

Overall, this turned out to be a great read. I gave it 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

I want to thank NetGalley for this book. I received it for free in exchange for an honest review.