Pachinko is described as a sweeping family saga, and sweeping saga it is. The novel follows a Korean family living in Japan from the early to mid 20th century. Sunja, the "main character" in my mind (although the book follows many characters through the years) gets pregnant when she is young and unmarried by a rich gangster. Isak, a minister with tuberculosis, marries her anyway and takes her to live in Japan with his brother and sister-in-law. The book then follows the lives of the family through the wars while living in a foreign country where they face discrimination and various hardships.

The writing is descriptive yet to the point. I learned a lot about the dynamics between Koreans and Japanese, and the book inspired me to spend some time on Wikipedia reading more. However, the characters and plot weren't compelling enough to keep me coming back. Although I did enjoy the book, it took some effort to get through.