August 2018 Wrap Up
I only read one book in August...I'm ashamed. It's a miracle that I finished this book before September. At the same time I've been reading a lot more lately. I'm somehow almost through my first book of September.
1. Pachinko, Min Jin Lee 4/5
Pachinko follows one Korean family through the generations, beginning in early 1900s Korea with Sunja, the prized daughter of a poor yet proud family, whose unplanned pregnancy threatens to shame them all. Deserted by her lover, Sunja is saved when a young sickly minister offers to marry and bring her to Japan. So begins a sweeping saga of an exceptional family in exile from its homeland and caught in the indifferent arc of history. Through desperate struggles and hard-won triumphs, its members are bound together by deep roots as they face enduring questions of faith, family, and identity.
I bought this book because of the cover. I'm not ashamed. I bought it at Target and then read the synopsis when I got home. I also knew that I had to prepare myself for this. This book is about 500 pages and historical fiction is already slow. I think that was important for me to realize that before I read it. I loved this book though. The characters were incredible and interesting. This book is from so many different perspectives. That's very risky because the book can become unfocused. It somehow worked for this book. It was nice to get different perspectives but also to see how other people are living through the war. My one complaint is that the writing was very 'matter of fact'. The characters lacked emotion in so many important parts. I don't know how to describe it without spoiling anything. There would be a shocking scene or tragedy and everyone would be like, "Okay". There would be no description of emotion. Maybe the author did that to show the tragedy of war and result of trauma? Or maybe it was to move the story along faster to represent all the characters. It was like that the whole book though. I hate writing that because it makes me seem like I didn't like it. It was worth the two weeks that it took me to read it. I also didn't want to put it down. If you love historical fiction, this is for you. If you hate nonfiction but want to read about history, read it.
DFTBA
-AB
1. Pachinko, Min Jin Lee 4/5
“Living everyday in the presence of those who refuse to acknowledge your humanity takes great courage”
Pachinko follows one Korean family through the generations, beginning in early 1900s Korea with Sunja, the prized daughter of a poor yet proud family, whose unplanned pregnancy threatens to shame them all. Deserted by her lover, Sunja is saved when a young sickly minister offers to marry and bring her to Japan. So begins a sweeping saga of an exceptional family in exile from its homeland and caught in the indifferent arc of history. Through desperate struggles and hard-won triumphs, its members are bound together by deep roots as they face enduring questions of faith, family, and identity.
I bought this book because of the cover. I'm not ashamed. I bought it at Target and then read the synopsis when I got home. I also knew that I had to prepare myself for this. This book is about 500 pages and historical fiction is already slow. I think that was important for me to realize that before I read it. I loved this book though. The characters were incredible and interesting. This book is from so many different perspectives. That's very risky because the book can become unfocused. It somehow worked for this book. It was nice to get different perspectives but also to see how other people are living through the war. My one complaint is that the writing was very 'matter of fact'. The characters lacked emotion in so many important parts. I don't know how to describe it without spoiling anything. There would be a shocking scene or tragedy and everyone would be like, "Okay". There would be no description of emotion. Maybe the author did that to show the tragedy of war and result of trauma? Or maybe it was to move the story along faster to represent all the characters. It was like that the whole book though. I hate writing that because it makes me seem like I didn't like it. It was worth the two weeks that it took me to read it. I also didn't want to put it down. If you love historical fiction, this is for you. If you hate nonfiction but want to read about history, read it.
DFTBA
-AB
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