Pachinko (by Min Jin Lee)

I read this for the Read Harder Challenge category "the book that’s been on your TBR the longest."  I don't really keep a TBR list so I really wasn't sure how to approach this. But I meant to read Pachinko for the 2018 Tournament of Books and then people have been recommending it. I checked it out of the library in March 2018 and at least seven times after that. So it clearly was a longtime TBR and also one I found it hard to read, so on two levels, this seemed to fit!

I thought the beginning was slow (probably why I kept not finishing it or hooking into it) but indeed, I loved it by the end. It's about Koreans living in Japan, who were born there but still not considered native Japanese. The history of this population and the challenges (and racism) they face were fascinating, and explored through really wonderful characters and evocative descriptions of life in Japan. And I loved the title… to me, it evoked the little balls dropping and how small actions and decisions kept impacting the next generation.

Everyone I know who has read this multi-generational family saga has loved it; I think multi-generational sagas intimidate me somewhat? But I ended up loving it too. And feeling like I accomplished something, after finally getting through it!