PachinkoPachinko
Score Modern
What it's about
In 1910s Korea, under Japanese occupation, a fisherman's daughter named Sunja falls for a wealthy stranger and becomes pregnant, then learns he's married. A gentle minister offers to marry her and take her to Japan, beginning a saga that follows her family across four generations in Osaka and Yokohama, where Koreans face constant discrimination, and where her descendants find their way, often through the pachinko gambling parlors that are one of the few businesses open to them.
Why it's worth reading
It's a sweeping, deeply humane family epic about identity, endurance and belonging, opening with one of fiction's great first lines: "History has failed us, but no matter." It was a National Book Award finalist and is beloved by readers everywhere.
You'll love it if you liked
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Americanah
East of EdenGood to know
It covers nearly eighty years, so characters come and go and deaths happen suddenly. About 500 pages, with short chapters.
By the numbers
- Readers93 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics71 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller71 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz5 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #5 of the 309 literary novels we rank
- #8 of the 116 historical novels we rank
- #25 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #51 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving, Thought-provoking
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Quick answers
Is Pachinko worth reading?
Yes. It's a sweeping, deeply humane family epic about identity, endurance and belonging, opening with one of fiction's great first lines: "History has failed us, but no matter." It was a National Book Award finalist and is beloved by readers everywhere. It ranks #51 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 89.0 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Pachinko about?
In 1910s Korea, under Japanese occupation, a fisherman's daughter named Sunja falls for a wealthy stranger and becomes pregnant, then learns he's married. A gentle minister offers to marry her and take her to Japan, beginning a saga that follows her family across four generations in Osaka and Yokohama, where Koreans face constant discrimination, and where her descendants find their way, often through the pachinko gambling parlors that are one of the few businesses open to them.
How long does it take to read Pachinko?
About 12 hours (484 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Pachinko?
If you liked it, try A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie or East of Eden by John Steinbeck.