Min Jin Lee's writing style in Pachinko is incredibly unique. I can't remember the last time I encountered a novel told from a third-person omniscient point of view. This allows Lee to write about all of the characters effectively and give the reader a more intimate perspective of each character. I really enjoy this writing style choice because I like knowing what each character is thinking and doing so I can understand everything in its context as best as possible. In terms of writing style, Pachinko reminds me the most of Tommy Orange's There There. In his novel, Orange weaves in multiple different characters in the storyline which allows the reader to understand the thoughts of each character. Lee does this in Pachinko, too. However, one main difference between the two novels is that Pachinko uses third-person omniscient while There There has multiple narrators since each character talks in first person in their respective sections. Also, the events that take place in Orange's novel are happening simultaneously. In Lee's novel, the story takes place over multiple generations.
It is clear to me that gender plays a large role in Pachinko. Sunja has many social pressures that consume her life. Most of these social pressures are a result of her being female. For example, when she gets pregnant while being single, she is pressured to leave her life in Korea behind to find a man to marry and provide for her so that she is not judged by society. This demonstrates that society is not supporting women to live independent lives and/or pursue an education. The only expectations for women include being good mothers and good wives. Another example of gender roles playing a big role in Pachinko is women as part of the workforce. In Japan, it becomes apparent that women aren't encouraged to work. In fact, Yoseb takes it as a hit to his ego as a man when Sunja and Kyunghee tell him they wish to work. He is insulted because in Japan, a man is supposed to provide for women.
Hey James! You make a good point about the moments in There There happening simultaneously while events in Pachinko move in chronological order. To me, these strategies gives Orange's novel the theme of cohesion and things slowly coming together, and Lee's novel an almost domino-effect pacing of one choice tumbling to another one all in a sequence.
ReplyDeleteI agree, James! The shifting perspectives allow every character to contribute their own thoughts and feelings, which makes the story feel like more of a web of people and their opinions. Like There, There, though, this has made our main character(s), Sunja (and Hoonie and Yangjin?) a bit less central. I think it does benefit the story, but I also think it leaves us a bit out of the loop when it comes to Sunja, who I feel like I barely know, despite her status as the protagonist.
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