Owning pachinko parlors becomes a way for the clan depicted in the novel to climb out of poverty - but destiny cannot be manipulated so easily. The urge to play can quickly become an addiction, and of course the game is a perfect metaphor for the ricochet whims of fate. There's a comic feel of Rube Goldberg to the device, but the final effect is oddly mesmerizing. Pachinko, for those not in the know, is one of the national obsessions of Japan, a dizzying cross between pinball and a slot machine, wherein small metal balls drop randomly amid a maze of brass pins. Pachinko, the sophomore novel by the gifted Korean-born Min Jin Lee, is the kind of book that can open your eyes and fill them with tears at the same time. In fiction we seek a paradox, the familiar in the foreign, new realities that only this one particular author can give us. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title Pachinko Author Min Jin Lee
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