Pachinko

There’s a line in Min Jin Lee’s novel Pachinko that I love so much. It goes “We cannot help but be interested in the stories of people that history pushes aside so thoughtlessly.”

I love that so much because a lot of my storytelling is more interested in the strength and persistence of ordinary people rather than the accomplishments of rulers and the powerful.

This novel is maybe my favorite from the past decade. For sure a top five. In some ways it tells the story of intergenerational trauma and imperialism- I guess the better way to say that is the Korean concept of Han, if you’ve heard that before.

At the same time it also tells the story of intergenerational strength and love, especially for the women of the family it follows throughout a century.

This one made me really proud of the strong Asian women I have in my family line.

Anyways, Apple TV is adapting the book into a series this month and it has a stacked cast. It looks really good from the promo stuff I’ve seen. I know what I’m looking forward to this weekend.