Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

February/March read

Photo by Photos of Korea on Unsplash

Join Us for Pachinko by Min Jin Lee!

Are you ready for our next R&W book? We’re diving into Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, and we can’t wait to read along with you! 📖

Our first episode will drop on Tuesday, February 25th, with new episodes releasing every Tuesday through the end of March. You can find our reading schedule at the bottom of the page.

From the very first line, "History has failed us, but no matter," you’ll be hooked! While not everyone loves audiobooks, I highly recommend the Audible version of Pachinko, narrated by Sandra Oh. It’s spectacular! I’ve found that listening to the audiobook helps me with pronunciation, especially for the names and places, which is helpful when I switch back to reading on my own.

About the Book (Courtesy of Goodreads):

In the early 1900s, teenaged Sunja, the adored daughter of a crippled fisherman, falls for a wealthy stranger at the seashore near her home in Korea. He promises her the world, but when she discovers she is pregnant—and that her lover is married—she refuses to be bought. Instead, she accepts an offer of marriage from a gentle, sickly minister passing through on his way to Japan. But her decision to abandon her home, and to reject her son's powerful father, sets off a dramatic saga that will echo down through the generations.

Richly told and profoundly moving, Pachinko is a story of love, sacrifice, ambition, and loyalty. From bustling street markets to the halls of Japan's finest universities to the pachinko parlors of the criminal underworld, Lee's complex and passionate characters—strong, stubborn women, devoted sisters and sons, fathers shaken by moral crisis—survive and thrive against the indifferent arc of history.

Note-Taking & Connections to War and Peace

If you’re also reading War and Peace this year, look for places where the two books connect—both thematically and in terms of narrative style. Pay attention to how each author approaches family, loyalty, and sacrifice. It’ll be interesting to compare! 🧐

A few weeks ago, Shari posted an article on the art of note-taking while reading. If you’re looking for tips, check it out here. It’s a great resource as you dig into the book!

Let’s Share the Journey!

Both Shari and I would love to hear your thoughts on Pachinko as we go along. Feel free to share insights, questions, or reactions as we read—it’s always more fun when we do it together! Let’s chat in the comments or join our chat thread on The Reader & the Writer Page.

Happy Reading!

---

Reading Schedule & Links

To guide your reading journey, find our reading schedule for the next five weeks below.

“History has failed us, but no matter.” Pachinko and Min Jin Lee | KBS DOCU INSIGHT

This documentary is eye-opening and focuses on Min Jin Lee. It’s spoiler-free until the 25-minute mark, when she begins discussing Pachinko. I fast-forwarded through some sections that seemed to contain spoilers, so I recommend watching with caution. I resumed watching at the 35:44 mark and watched through to the end. This is a beautiful and enlightening documentary, and I highly recommend it.

Buy the book:

Bookshop.org (supports Goldberry Books in Concord, NC—Close Reads Podcast)

Amazon