Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Published 2017 · 512 pages · 158,627 words · about 10 hours at an average pace · literary fiction, historical fiction, family saga, immigrant fiction

How hard is Pachinko to read?

Pachinko scores 45 out of 100 for difficulty on ReadingRate, making it moderately challenging. The score is a weighted composite of nine measures: four of how hard the prose is to parse, five of how hard the meaning is to extract.

Vocabulary: 60 out of 100
The novel incorporates numerous Korean and Japanese terms (e.g., 'ajumoni,' 'hanbok,' 'ondol,' 'yobo,' 'Oppa,' 'Seolleongtang'), which require readers to infer meaning from context or consult a glossary, adding a layer of cultural specificity. While the English prose is clear and accessible, the frequent use of these foreign words elevates the vocabulary beyond typical contemporary fiction, demanding active engagement from the reader. This is more demanding than 'The Great Gatsby' but less so than works with extensive archaic or scientific jargon like 'Moby-Dick.'
Sentence structure: 55 out of 100
The prose features a balanced mix of sentence lengths, incorporating compound and complex structures to convey detailed descriptions and character thoughts. While sentences are often direct and clear, there are instances of multiple clauses and descriptive phrases that add nuance without becoming overly convoluted. The syntax is more varied and sophisticated than '1984' but lacks the extreme hypotaxis or experimental forms found in works like Henry James's 'The Golden Bowl.'
Abstraction: 65 out of 100
The narrative is deeply rooted in concrete events, daily struggles, and the lived experiences of its characters, such as the operation of a boardinghouse, market interactions, and the challenges of immigration. While the story explores profound themes of faith, suffering, morality, and national identity, these philosophical elements are consistently integrated into character dialogue and internal reflections, rather than presented as abstract theoretical digressions. The level of abstraction is comparable to '2666,' which is grounded but probes meaning through its story.
Information density: 68 out of 100
The narrative is rich with historical context, cultural details, and the intricate lives of multiple characters spanning generations and locations. Readers must track various Korean and Japanese terms, social customs, and the implications of colonial rule and immigration. While the prose flows clearly, the constant layering of these elements, combined with the emotional weight of the characters' struggles, demands sustained attention. This density is higher than 'The Great Gatsby' but less overwhelming than the encyclopedic scope of 'War and Peace.'
Narrative indirection: 35 out of 100
The narrative in Pachinko is largely direct, with an omniscient narrator explicitly detailing characters' thoughts, feelings, and the historical context. Readers are told much of the meaning, such as Hoonie's parents' motivations for raising him diligently or Sunja's internal conflict regarding Hansu. This directness is comparable to books like '1984' (35), where exposition is clear, rather than requiring extensive inference like 'The Great Gatsby' (65).
Symbolic density: 30 out of 100
While the novel uses elements like white rice, traditional clothing, and the sea to represent cultural identity and socio-economic status, these are generally straightforward and serve to ground the narrative in its specific setting. The symbolism, such as the carved ducks explicitly stated to 'mate for life,' is present but not deeply layered or allegorical. This places it closer to 'To Kill a Mockingbird' (45) with its clear symbolism, rather than the pervasive, abstract symbolism of 'Moby-Dick' (90).
Ironic distance: 25 out of 100
The narrative maintains a largely earnest and empathetic tone, presenting the characters' struggles and the historical injustices directly. While situational ironies exist, such as the Japanese officer's belief in a 'fair and reasonable' government amidst oppression, there is no significant gap between the text's surface meaning and a hidden authorial critique. The direct emotional engagement aligns with 'It Ends with Us' (35) or 'Diary of a Young Girl' (15), lacking the complex, unreliable narration of 'Lolita' (75).
Resolution withholding: 68 out of 100
The excerpt concludes with significant unresolved personal and political conflicts, most notably Isak's arrest and uncertain fate, and the ongoing struggles of the Korean community in Japan. While some immediate plot points are settled (Sunja's marriage, birth of Noa), the broader implications for the characters' futures and the historical context remain open-ended. This level of ambiguity is higher than 'The Great Gatsby' (60) which has a closed plot but open meaning, leaning towards the sustained uncertainty seen in 'Lolita' (65) or even 'Crying of Lot 49' (75) in its immediate impact.
Structural complexity: 30 out of 100
Pachinko employs a traditional, linear narrative structure, progressing chronologically through dated chapters from 1910 to 1939. The perspective is consistently omniscient, and there are no significant timeline jumps, unreliable narrators, or formal experiments. This straightforward presentation is comparable to 'Beach Read' (28) or 'War and Peace' (40), making it highly accessible in its form.

How Pachinko is regarded

Pachinko holds a literary regard score of 55 out of 100, weighing its place in the canon, its critical reception, its influence on other writers, and the standing of its author. Regard is measured separately from difficulty: a demanding book is not necessarily an admired one.

Prizes

Where Pachinko sits in Northrop Frye's Anatomy of Criticism

Placed by a full reading of the text (290 passages), not from reputation. Each verdict quotes the passage that earned it. On the axis from myth to irony, Pachinko scores 66 out of 100. A second mythos, comedy, pulls at it with a weight of 0.15. About the map of stories.

Mode: Low Mimetic
In the end, your belly was your emperor.
Symbol: Formal
Ikaino was a misbegotten village of sorts, comprised of mismatched, shabby houses.
Mythos: Irony & Satire iv (Tragic Pathos) (irony iv)
Noa had shot himself a few minutes after she’d left his office.
Genre: Novel + Romance
In 1910, when Hoonie was twenty-seven years old, Japan annexed Korea.

Where the story of Pachinko takes place

  • Ikaino Korean quarter, Osaka, 1933-1962 (1933 to 1962), the main setting
  • Yeongdo fishing village and Busan, Korea, 1910-1933 (1910 to 1933)
  • Tamaguchi's sweet-potato farm outside Osaka, wartime (1944 to 1945)
  • Cosmos Pachinko, Nagano, 1962-1978 (1962 to 1978)
  • Yokohama and Tokyo, 1962-1989 (1962 to 1989)

5 things that are true of Pachinko, with the passage for each

  1. The novel opens with a one-sentence paragraph announcing that history has failed the characters.

    History has failed us, but no matter.

  2. Sunja haggles a pawnbroker up from fifty yen and demands two hundred for the pocket watch.

    “Two hundred,” she said. “It’s worth at least three hundred. It’s made in Switzerland and brand-new.”

  3. Yoseb names Isak's firstborn Noa for the Biblical figure who obeyed and believed.

    “Noa—because he obeyed and did what the Lord asked. Noa—because he believed when it was impossible to do so.”

  4. Noa shoots himself minutes after his mother's visit to his Nagano office.

    Noa had shot himself a few minutes after she’d left his office.

  5. Solomon's boss at the bank lectures him on a 'tax' on success, shit and mediocrity.

    “Listen, there is a tax, you know, on success.”

Scenes in Pachinko that Frye would name

43 sightings of Frye's terms in the text. The strongest:

Anagnorisis, untitled
“It’s appa,” the man said. Noa recognizes the ruined stranger on the floor as his father.
Pathos, untitled
Noa had shot himself a few minutes after she’d left his office. The sacrificial death that follows the reunion with his mother.
Sparagmos, untitled
Ridges of scar tissue furrowed diagonally across Isak’s shoulders and discolored torso Isak's returned body is the evidence of the prison's tearing apart.
Sparagmos, untitled
His mouth and cheek were half gone, as if he had been consumed by an animal. Yoseb returns from Nagasaki with his body half destroyed.
Anagnorisis, untitled
“He’s your father, isn’t he?” Akiko said. Akiko's recognition of the resemblance precipitates Noa's confrontation with his origin.
Pharmakos, untitled
“Die, you ugly Korean.” Tetsuo Kimura, the middle-school scapegoat, is driven to suicide by his classmates.

Books that share these scenes with Pachinko

About the author

Min Jin Lee