On the Topic of Lee's Style...

Of the novels we've read as part of this course, Min Jin Lee's Pachinko reads the most like a standard novel, maybe tied with Home Fire. The novel is broken into fairly short, episodic chapters that detail a series of events in the third-person omniscient perspective. For a reader, Pachinko is certainly easier to digest than some other novels we've read in the course, namely The Interesting Narrative and Hayy Ibn Yaqzan. When comparing the novel's structure the other standard fiction novels we've read, Home Fire, The Secret River, and There There, it's really just a matter of preference. Home Fire and There There have longer chapters that each focus on the actions and thoughts of a single character, and The Secret River was told entirely through a single perspective. In a sense, Pachinko's third-person omniscient perspective is more liberating than the other novels, in that we can see the thoughts of any character at any time, thereby mitigating disorientation from shifting perspectives.

With regards to Lee's writing style, she is rather descriptive of characters, at times many orders moreso than the environment. She is a character-oriented writer, which is a pretty good thing, I'd say, as she does not neglect to detail other aspects of the story. The way that Lee writes characters is compelling, which is evident from how easy it is to understand Hoonie's character despite him being alive for a grand total of about ten pages.

That being said, I don't necessarily understand her inclusion of sex scenes. Up to chapter twelve, there have been two amorous scenes detailed that I can recall, and, frankly speaking, I don't understand what narrative purpose that such scenes could entail. Personally, I think that sex scenes in novels just exist to draw in a young adult audience; if they are to reinforce character relationships, then different events could achieve the same purpose with significantly greater depth. Regardless, they don't necessarily detract from her style, I just personally don't enjoy that particular aspect.

Overall Pachinko isn't exactly what I expected. There are many points in which I understand the cultural implications of events, and there are other points in which events seem incongruous with that same knowledge and experience. It's still a worthwhile read, and I am curious to see where Lee will take the story.