This is a great historical fiction novel spanning several generations of a Korean family. It begins in the 1930s with Sunja, the beloved daughter of a poor family whose unplanned pregnancy threatens their honor. A minister who stays at their boardinghouse offers to marry Sunja and take her with him to his new life in Japan. In Japan, the family faces harsh discrimination and poverty.
Sunja's children, Noa and Mozasu, both end up working in the pachinko business, which is very popular in Japan, but also has a seedy reputation. (Perhaps like casinos here?) They take very different paths in life, and end up in very different places. The story ends in the 1980s with Solomon, Sunja's grandson, who is navigating what it means to be a second generation Korean in Japan.
I found this book to be very readable, so don't let its nearly 500 pages keep you away.
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