In the early 1900s, teenaged Sunja, the adored daughter of a crippled fisherman, falls for a wealthy stranger at the seashore near her home in Korea. He promises her the world, but when she discovers she is pregnant–and that her lover is married–she refuses to be bought. Instead, she accepts an offer of marriage from a gentle, sickly minister passing through on his way to Japan. But her decision to abandon her home, and to reject her son’s powerful father, sets off a dramatic saga that will echo down through the generations.
Richly told and profoundly moving, Pachinko is a story of love, sacrifice, ambition, and loyalty. From bustling street markets to the halls of Japan’s finest universities to the pachinko parlors of the criminal underworld, Lee’s complex and passionate characters–strong, stubborn women, devoted sisters and sons, fathers shaken by moral crisis–survive and thrive against the indifferent arc of history.
I started Pachinko last night. I’ve already reread the book of Hosea from my Bible, as it’s mentioned in the beginning of the book. I’m always leery of seeing Protestant faith in books, I am curious to see how it is further portrayed in this book. I’m not a “religious” person -but I do have a relationship with Jesus. Although the Protestant faith is where I worship on most Sundays there are many things I have issues with. There’s no such thing as a perfect church. My belief is you should just be church to people. This is why I mostly identify as a Jesus Feminist. Love, grace, mercy, peace these are my daily goals of life. Worth, everyone has value and worth and the right to a life filled with joy. This is what I try to teach every child. Lately somewhere that’s gotten lost when people speak from the Bible. My constant answer: That’s NOT Jesus. You never use the Bible as a weapon. Never. So I’ll read on hopefully but cautious.
This is part of the 13 books 13 weeks books of summer I picked to read!
I’ve read good and bad reviews. So I am intrigued. Several people knowing I am reading this are waiting to see what I think. This also intrigues me.
Reading on!
Peace.
