Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

19 reviews

japanasi's review against another edition

reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

there are quite some differences in comparison to the Apple+ series (Pachinko), which I saw before and made me want to read the novel. a sad but definitely interesting read; food for thought, too. 

the second half was simultaneously draining and more or less dragging on, but it also left me unsatisfied with how fast the stories were pushed through? we spent so much time with sunja and then all of a sudden the focus shifts tremendously and she is treated as a side character, which I didn’t like so much; I’d rather have the whole story focus on her, even though the others were interesting, too.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Stalking, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Infidelity, Racism, and Sexism

Minor: Sexual content, Death, Death of parent, Grief, War, Suicide, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Terminal illness, and Violence

telcontar2901's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Racism, Sexual content, and Stalking

Moderate: Classism, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Alcohol, Bullying, Suicide, Violence, and War

Minor: Cancer, Miscarriage, Trafficking, Bullying, Abandonment, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Abortion, and Car accident

talonsontypewriters's review

challenging reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Racism, Bullying, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Death, Classism, Misogyny, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Ableism, Suicide, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Rape, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Incest, Police brutality, Terminal illness, Child death, Stalking, and Medical content

Minor: Infertility, Addiction, Kidnapping, Abortion, Antisemitism, Vomit, Cancer, Car accident, and Child abuse

stevie's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Racism, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Ableism, Abortion, Alcoholism, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Suicide, Violence, Bullying, Car accident, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Stalking, Toxic relationship, War, Colonisation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Sexism

nila's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

An incredible journey through most of the 20th century following one family and their journey trying to survive all aspects of war and its aftermath. The story had twist and turns, and there were many times I had to put the book down because I was so surprised by what I had just read 

from the reading journal: There's an abundance of the "innocent young good man/boy being corrupted by the sexual whore who only wants their money material things. Yes the" bad men"-characters are also present, but I feel they are more fleshed out and for some reason, their "flaws" are justified and explained away.

One the other end, the "good" woman is also never good enough. She's too boring or even, not "good enough".Every single woman is described and more or less ranked by their sexual availability and desirability. And almost all the women who are described as promiscuous are punished, either with not being allowed to marry again for love, or being beaten half to death in a car or actually dying. While the men who illicit the same kind of behavior get to grow old, and be surrounded by wealth and loved ones. I understand that this is/was the reality of the society that is described in the book, but then what should one think is the "message" behind the story? Or am I overthinking this? I want to read more Asian literature, but find that the sexualisation of women is a deterring factor.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, War, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Violence, Alcohol, Cursing, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Death of parent, Suicide, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, and Child death

Minor: Abortion, Police brutality, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Drug use

lindseyhall44's review

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

“History as failed us, but no matter.”
Pachinko was one of the best books I read this month, and I think everyone should read it once in their life. Although parts are slow, Jin Lee crafted a thought provoking historical piece revolving around family and identity. 
Pachinko follows four generations of a Korean family, beginning in the 1930’s and spanning up until the 1980’s. In a time when Japan occupies Korea, and after the effects of occupation linger, the family experiences discrimination, eventually questions the idea of home. In the end, I believe that home may be a place, but it’s overall, with those you love.
The character depth of these characters was done phenomenally well, each offering a unique perspective on being a Korean Japanese citizen. The line between nationality and ethnicity sparked an interesting conversation, once which has parallels to todays day and age.
Please read it if you have not done so already, you will not regret it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Abandonment, Colonisation, Adult/minor relationship, War, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Infidelity

Moderate: Addiction, Misogyny, Cancer, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Alcoholism, Stalking, Infidelity, and Classism

Minor: Domestic abuse

bridgetbry's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Religious bigotry, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Suicide and War

Minor: Stalking and Miscarriage

cosmicjo's review

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia

Moderate: Ableism, Death, Suicide, and Alcoholism

Minor: Miscarriage and Stalking

nothingforpomegranted's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This sprawling family saga follows a Korean family from 1910 through four generations across Korea and Japan, exploring themes of devotion, discrimination, class, poverty, and family.

Hoonie is born with a limp and a cleft lip in a small town in rural northern Korea in 1883, causing tremendous distress for his family who feared he would be unable to work or to marry; Hoonie manages to do both. He and his wife Yangjin run a boardinghouse and adore their daughter Sunja, whose life takes us into the rest of the novel.

After her father's death, Sunja works with her mother to serve their guests and provide a positive experience that they can all be proud of. When she meets and becomes pregnant by a middle-aged man who turns out to have a wife and children back in Japan, Sunja is saved by a sickly pastor who offers to marry her and bring her with him to his brother's home in Japan. Isak, Sunja, Yosef, and Kyunghee live a stoic, quiet, humble life, working desperately to provide for themselves, Isak's new church and the coming children. Noa is born, then Mozasu, and the family grows tighter and more reliant on each other, taking over the kitchen to make kimchi and candy to sell. As the boys mature, their lives in school and at work begin to diverge, and the introduction of the fourth generation takes the story in a tragic direction.

Min Jin Lee's writing is spare, using short sentences and very little imagery, and I found it difficult to be immersed in the story because the choppy language just didn't pull me in. Though I was intrigued by the characters, their range of personalities and their relationships with each other, I expect more texture from a family saga, and I didn't get that from Pachinko. I learned a lot about Japanese and Korean culture, and I appreciated the deft way Lee explored history--including the bombing of Nagasaki at the end of the Second World War--through the eyes of her characters, not making a big deal of big events, but addressing them as her contemporaneous characters would understand them. Indeed, there was plenty that I was prompted to research after reading (though Lee might have taken it a bit too far in that direction, because sometimes I wasn't even sure what to look up).

For those who are curious about the history of this region during this extended time period but do not usually read literary family sagas, I think this is an accessible one to pick up. Given the many other reviews I've read, it seems that my lukewarm attitude is an unpopular opinion, so take it all with a grain of salt. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Stalking, and Suicide