Pachinko is like a combination of slots and pinball. You buy a ball and choose where to drop it in on a vertical board set with pins. The pins guide the ball around the board to holes. The hole that the ball enters determines your payout. So there is the appearance of control—the player gets to choose where to drop the ball—but the ball's many twists and turns are a rigged game.

This book spans the lives of four generations of a Korean family living in Japan, starting with Japanese-occupied Korea. The most consistent thing that plagues the family is unrelenting racism and their struggle to make a home and identity for themselves. But even though the characters need to make decisions related to survival, the majority of the time there are few true choices available. Mostly they are tossed from one situation to the next, playing a rigged game.

I thought the setting of the book was really interesting—how often do you hear of books about Korean immigrants to Japan? The writing was solid as well, and the audio narration was pleasant.