Author: Min Jin Lee
Subject: Koreans in Japan
Genre: Historical fiction novel
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Pages: 531
My Rating: 10 / 10
*Quotes in red are my favorite ones.
Hellouuu, my lovely readers!
I don't even know where to begin, so I suggest you to grab a cup of tea, settle in on the sofa, and brace yourself for the longest review I've ever written.
First, I'll go over the characters and my thoughts on each of them.
CHARACTERS
1. HANSU
Hansu is a man I neither disliked nor liked. It's a man who is full of himself, but I understand him, but still I didn't like his character throughout the book. My opinion of him shifted with each chapter. He did a lot of bad things to Sunja, which upset me greatly, but he would do anything for his son - and this is where my dilemma comes in. I'm still not sure if he loved Sunja or everything was just an act and here is where Hansu left me hanging haha.
His words:
"If you're here and I'm not, I want you to leave this stone in the same spot,
so I can know that you came to see me."
(I thought that was a cute gesture, haha.)
"People are rotten everywhere you go. They're no good. You want to see a very bad man? Make an ordinary man successful beyond his imagination.
Let's see how good he is when he can do whatever he wants."
(This is my favorite quote from this book!!!)
2. ISAK
Isak, a 27-year-old man truly worthy of the world. I immediately liked him and his kindness, and I'm sure every woman would like to have a husband like him. :)
He rescued Sunja and brought her to Osaka. He treated her child as if it were his, and he loved her unconditionally. Even though she was constantly thinking about Hansu, she eventually realized that she loved Isak and that he gave her everything. She was constantly visiting his grave and saying that she feels more connected to him now than she did when he was alive, and I thought about how people don't respect people enough when they are still alive. Isak deserved a lot more :(
His words:
"[...] By evening, I knew. The lord was speaking to me. This has never happened to me before. I've never felt that kind of clarity."
Fatso: "Think of the mermaids of Yeongdo. [...] They will not be the same in Japan." Isak: "Your offer is tempting. Perhaps I should find a mermaid to go with me to Osaka."
(I laughed here, so adorable.)
3. YOSEB
Yoseb was a man who I found at the beginning annoying and cold. But I gradually understood his concerns and appreciated his words (which every Korean will use, because of their culture) and hard work. Finally, he was right about everything and everyone. A wonderful man and husband to Kyunghee.
His words:
"We're all hungry. They were stealing. You have to be careful. Just because they're Korean doesn't mean they're our friends."
(I completely agree with him. There are many people who are my nationality and have turned their backs to me, as well as many people who are not my nationality but have been extremely kind to me. And I can argue with people who believe that just because someone shares your nationality, must be your friend. It is a resounding NO from me.)
5. MOZASU
Mozasu was the most adorable younger brother. I laughed at every one of his sentences and admired him until the end of the book. I was extremely happy that he had made it and that his dreams had come true. He was a man of a word, haha. I put my hand over my mouth after each sentence I read because I was so taken aback by the words he used, haha. He was younger, so he learned to defend himself through fights and bad behavior, but that is what made him special. He was acting strong, so he became strong; as the saying goes, "fake it until you make it." 화이팅!
His words:
"You're a pussy. Do you really give two shits if the teacher yells at you? Kara-sensei is an even bigger pussy than you are."
"[...] But the Koreans back home aren't changing, either. In Seoul, people like me get called Japanese bastards, and in Japan, I'm just another dirty Korean no matter how much money I make or how nice I am. So what the fuck? [...]."
6. NOA
Noa, my dear Noa. When I read the final sentence on page 426, it broke my heart. I bolted from the room and said to my mom, who had read Pachinko before me, "No mom, he didn't." My chest hurt, and a tear escaped from my eye. My mom also stated that she was shocked. I've never cried while reading a book before, but this made me cry because was my favorite character in the book and I felt like I was his mother, watching him grow :(
After finishing a book, I went to watch the TV drama Pachinko, which disappointed me because they didn't include a life story of Noa (there are just two scenes of him being a little baby and in the end of the k-drama as a boy), who is also the main character, so I simply decided not to watch it — after reading such an amazing book, I wasn't ready to watch a 'not-so-good' k-drama.
7. SUNJA, KYUNGHEE AND ETSUKO
Three powerful women. Sunja's emotional pain was noticeable throughout the novel. Kyunghee was the cutest and most caring person — let's not forget that she loved Yoseb unconditionally until his death, even though 100 men wanted her — and Etsuko was a typical Japanese woman who deserved a lot more than just judgements from her daughter Hanuko (who I didn't like) and others, and all this just because she was Japanese, despite being a wonderful woman who fell in love with a Korean man.
And now I would like to share with you passages from the book that I really liked.
QUOTES THAT STAYED IN WITH ME
Sunja: "She's very busy."
Ajumma: "Of course she is! Sunja-ya, a woman's life is endless work and suffering. There is suffering and then more suffering. It's better to accept it, you know. You're becoming a woman now, so you should be told this. For a woman, the man you marry will determine the quality of your life completely. A good man is a decent life, and a bad man is a cursed life — but no matter what, always except suffering, and just keep working hard.
No one will take care of a poor woman — just ourselves."
My thoughts: It's hard to imagine how hard women lived back in 1930s and we should be grateful that we live the way we live today, even thought some women in poor countries still live this way. :(
"Japanese students teased Korean kids, and occasionally, vise versa."
My thoughts: Reading this made me sad because the children had no idea what was going on; they just listened to their parents; if that were not the case, the children would talk to each other normally, not knowing who was who or what nationality was who. Unfortunately, war was the reason.
"[...] The only word she understood for certain was 'yobo', which normally meant 'dear' but was also a derogatory epithet used by the Japanese
to describe Koreans."
My thoughts: I knew what 'yobo' meant because I learned Korean and watched thousands of movies where they used this word, but I had no idea the Japanese used it negatively. It caught my attention and I learned something new at the same time. :)
"Sunja stared at his black eyes, thinking that she had never wanted anything more except for the time she'd wanted her father to recover from his illness. There wasn't a day when she didn't think of her father or hear
his voice in her head."
My thoughts: I felt her pain while reading this, and I admired how well she got along with her father when he was still alive.
"The smart ones, especially, you have to watch out for those — Koreans are natural troublemakers."
My thoughts: I read that in many books.
"Noa said that Koreans had to raise themselves up by working harder and being better. Mozasu just wanted to hit everyone who said mean things."
My thoughts: I just can't; the cutest thing ever <3
That's all for this post; I mean, even this is horribly long,
so if you made it this far, thank you.
The unfortunate part is that I borrowed this book from a library and will have to return it soon :( I promised myself that I would buy it and keep it at home; after all, who wouldn't have his favorite book on his book shelves at home?
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