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You are very brave, Noa. Much, much braver than me. Living every day in the presence of those who refuse to acknowledge your humanity takes great courage

i would’ve read three more volumes of this story. pachinko spans over decades, from the early 1900s to the end of the 20th century and centers around the story of sunja, a young Korean woman and her family, as she goes through her first love, her first heartbreak and everything that ensues as she moves to Japan.

min jin lee captivated me through her writing and her storytelling. while there were a lot of different characters and intertwined storylines, it didn’t feel confusing or overwhelming to read about. it felt complex, yes, but in the “this is our (hi)story, it’s not simple but it’s ours� kind of way not in a “purposeful attempt to confuse the reader.� i felt a lot of sympathy for the characters and continuously felt for them. this was heartbreaking in a lot of ways but also very enriching. i genuinely learned so much about the history of korea and japan during the 20th century, about japan’s imperialism and the anti-korean sentiment in japan.

buddyread this with my beloved friend sonja and her Big Brain Thoughts made this reading experience that much more enjoyable <3