Min Jin Lee's Pachinko plunges us into the onerous life of a young Korean girl named Sunja, and we follow the unfolding of her life during times of war and discrimination from Pyongyang to Yokohama. It's hard to encapsulate so many pages into one review, but it was great to see the world through Sunja's eyes. I had not as known much about Korean discrimination and their reputation among the Japanese until now. There were dozens of characters, and no matter their brevity they had life and purpose within the story. It was easy to sympathize and get attached to characters, even the ones you aren't rooting for.

The themes of motherhood, family and collectivism resonated a lot with me. As an Asian Canadian raised by immigrants, I felt very understood as I read about Sunja's family dynamics, and the chore that it is to be a matriarch, provider and daughter. 

The pacing was very well done, which is surprising since the chapters skip years at a time. Sunja begins as a teenager and ends as a grandmother. The different perspectives of her sons and their inner monologues had their own charm. 

Immigrant women work tirelessly and speak nothing of it—that I know for certain. I enjoyed the introduction of foreign perspectives, such as Phoebe's American views and more feminist customs clashing with those of Sunja's, which are traditional.

I see truth in both sides, as a very Westernized Asian myself who hates the gender divide and the expectations of sons versus daughters. 

This book really makes you sympathize with why people think the way they do, when they hold the responsibility of generations of self preservation.