Pachinko

We inherited this book from a generous fellow train passenger who had just finished it. My thanks to her!

The story follows multiple generations of a Korean family, spanning their resettlement in pre-WW2 Japan through to the early post-war decades. There are spadefuls of tragedies and poignant events as the family members' lifetime trajectories trace out examples of what it may have been like to move in with your colonisers and reconcile sense of place once the boot has been ungracefully lifted off your ancestral origin.

Elegantly written and absorbing. Possibly not one for people who demand explicit closure on a story arcs, but impressive in use of pace.

This is a family saga that follows a Korean family in Japan from before the WWII to the present day. The writing is simple, easy to read and interesting. Overall a good book, enlightening.