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| 2019/06/03 12:15:13瀏覽1031｜回應0｜推薦9 | |
Writer: Min Jin Lee (born 1968) is a Korean American writer whose work frequently deals with Korean American topics. Story: In the early 1900s, teenaged Sunja, the adored daughter of a crippled fisherman, falls for a wealthy stranger at the seashore near her home in Korea. He promises her the world, but when she discovers she is pregnant--and that her lover is married--she refuses to be bought. Instead, she accepts an offer of marriage from a gentle, sickly minister passing through on his way to Japan. But her decision to abandon her home, and to reject her sons powerful father, sets off a dramatic saga that will echo down through the generations.
Highlights vs self- reflection: 1.p.293:Yumi: thinks everyone is better off in America. She said it’s not like it is here in Japan, where a person can’t be different. 2.p.398: He was born in this country, and he had to be fingerprinted today on his birthday like he was a criminal. He’s just a child. He didn’t do anything wrong. Golden Sentence: 1.Home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit answered to, in strongest conjuration. –Charles Dickens 2.p.314:To live without forgiveness was a kind of death with breathing and movement. 3.p.378:Life’s going to keep pushing you around, but you have to keep palying. Conclusion: 1.The story give us an open heart to understand the colonized Korean how they go through WWI and WWII in Japan. Understanding comes from misunderstanding. 2.All the suffering soul do have a more generous heart to face here and now 3.We can’t change the past, but we can learn to forgive. Pachinko Questions by Torey: About the Writer Min Jin Lee is a Korean American writer whose work frequently deals with Korean American topics. Her writings have appeared in The New Yorker, NPR’s Selected Shorts, One Story, The New York Times Magazine, The Guardian, Conde Nast Traveler, The Times of London, Wall Street Journal, and Chosun Ilbo of South Korea. Her debut novel, Free Food for Millionaires, received critical acclaim in both the United States and United Kingdom. It was the first of a trilogy of books entitled “The Koreans,” of which Pachinko is the second, and American Hagwon will be the third. Lee was born in Seoul, but mostly grew up in Queens, New York after her family immigrated to the United States when she was seven years old. As a new immigrant, she spent much time at the Queens Public Library, where she learned to read and write, and also fell in love with stories as a means of escape from the world. She later studied history at Yale College and law at Georgetown University Law Center. She worked as a corporate lawyer in New York from 1993 to 1995 before quitting to focus on her writing. Lee currently resides in Harlem, New York with her son and husband. The works that most influence her as a writer are Middlemarch by George Eliot, Cousin Bette by Honoré de Balzac, and the Bible. About the Writer Min Jin Lee is a Korean American writer whose work frequently deals with Korean American topics. Her writings have appeared in The New Yorker, NPR’s Selected Shorts, One Story, The New York Times Magazine, The Guardian, Conde Nast Traveler, The Times of London, Wall Street Journal, and Chosun Ilbo of South Korea. Her debut novel, Free Food for Millionaires, received critical acclaim in both the United States and United Kingdom. It was the first of a trilogy of books entitled “The Koreans,” of which Pachinko is the second, and American Hagwon will be the third. Lee was born in Seoul, but mostly grew up in Queens, New York after her family immigrated to the United States when she was seven years old. As a new immigrant, she spent much time at the Queens Public Library, where she learned to read and write, and also fell in love with stories as a means of escape from the world. She later studied history at Yale College and law at Georgetown University Law Center. She worked as a corporate lawyer in New York from 1993 to 1995 before quitting to focus on her writing. Lee currently resides in Harlem, New York with her son and husband. The works that most influence her as a writer are Middlemarch by George Eliot, Cousin Bette by Honoré de Balzac, and the Bible.
Pachinko Summary Published in 2017, Pachinko is an epic historical novel following a Korean family who eventually migrates to Japan. It is the first novel written for an adult, English-speaking audience about Japanese–Korean culture, and it is currently available in 29 languages. The story begins in 1883 outside the fishing village of Yeongdo. Hoonie is the only surviving son of a poor couple that opens a lodge in their home to earn extra money. Due to a cleft chin and twisted foot, he is considered ineligible for marriage until Japan annexes Korea and many families are left destitute. Due to his family’s comparatively stable situation, they are able to arrange a marriage to Yangjin, the daughter of a poor farmer. By 1910, Hoonie and Yangjin have taken over the lodge and given birth to a daughter named Sunja. Hoonie passes away in 1926, leaving his wife and daughter to run the family business. At age sixteen, Sunja is pursued by a wealthy fishbroker, Koh Hansu. When she becomes pregnant, Hansu reveals that he is already married but intends to keep her as his mistress. Sunja tells her mother, who confesses to one of their lodgers, a Christian minister suffering from tuberculosis. Baek Isak, the minister, decides to marry Sunja to give her child a name and to give meaning to his life. Sunja travels with him to live with his brother and sister-in-law in Osaka, where Sunja is shocked to learn that Koreans are forced to live in a small ghetto and only hired for menial jobs. In Osaka, Sunja gives birth to her first son, Noa, and a second son named Mozasu. To help support the family, Sunja sells a gold watch given to her by Hansu and makes kimchee to sell at first from a cart, and then for a restaurant. After Baek dies from police brutality, World War II breaks out and Hansu (who discovered Sunja in Osaka after she sold his watch) moves her family to the countryside for their safety. After the war, the family moves back to Osaka and both Noa and Mozasu end up in the Pachinko business. Noa does so secretly in Nagano, after the trauma of accidentally learning his true parentage leads him to assume a Japanese identity. He successful at work and family life, but commits suicide after learning that his parents have discovered his whereabouts. Mozasu ends up owning and managing several parlors himself, and his son eventually learns the business as well. The book ends with Sunja at her deceased husband’s grave, where she buries a photo of her two sons. Discussion Questions 1. The book opens with the sentence “History has failed us, but no matter.” Why do you think so? Do you agree? p.406:Etsuko had failed in this important way-she had not taught her children to hope, to believe in the perhaps absurd possibility that they might win. Pachinko was a foolish game, but life was not. 2. How do you feel about Koh Hansu when he initially pursues Sunja? Do your feelings change when she becomes pregnant? What about later in the book? p.314:”Yoseb could understand the boys’ anger, but he wanted another chance to talk to him, to tell Noa that a man must learn to forgive-to know what is important, that to live without forgiveness was a kind of death with breathing and movement. 3. Do you agree with the assertion throughout the book that a woman’s lot is to suffer? Do you believe that women suffer more than men in this book? p.363:Ayame was five years older than Daisuke was, the eldest daughter raised in a deeply conservative Buddhist family, and he assumed that her strict upbringing had much to do with her ability to forbear and endure. p.32:It was always possible for a woman to be disgraced. Noblewomen supposedly hid silver knives in their blouses to protect themselves or to commit suicide if they were dishonored. 4. How much agency and power do you think Sunja really has over her life, and does she ever recognize that power? Sunja runs agency of serving lodgers: washing clothes, preparing food, selling kinchi, candies, cookies, running a confection shop. p.337:Sunja was not like most mothers of sons; she never said anything intrusive. 5. Female beauty (and how it changes with time) comes up often in the book. What does this reveal about society? Do you see the same emphasis on female beauty in your life and present-day culture? p.398:Hanna: we’re all criminals. Liars, thieves, whores-that’s who we are p.402: Etsuko:there were so many errors. If life allowed revisions, she would let them stay in their bath a little longer, read them one more story before bed, and fix them another plate of shrimp. 6. Throughout the book, characters must often choose between survival and tradition/morality. Which examples of this tension spoke to you the most, and why? P.361:Noa:What? Who do you want to put a curse on? It isn’t so easy to do so, Koichi-chan, and what would you do if someone put a curse on you? p.308:Noa didn’t care about being Korean or Japanese with anyone. He wanted to be just himself; he wanted to forget himself sometimes. 7. Many of the characters in this novel struggle with shame, whether due to their ethnicity, family, life choices, or other factors. How does shame drive both their successes and failures? p.406: Mosasu: and yet we played on, because we had hope that we might be the lucky ones. How could you get angry at the ones who wanted to be in the game. p.406:Etsuko had failed in this important way-she had not taught her children to hope, to believe in the perhaps absurd possibility that they might win. p.416:Sunja: Noa’s death may have been her fault for having allowed him to believe in such cruel ideals. Noa had been a sensitive child who had believed that if he followed all the rules and was the best, then somehow the hostile world would change its mind. 8. The idea of “home” or a sense of belonging comes up many times throughout the book. Which characters seem to feel the greatest sense of belonging, and which feel the least? Which character do you think experiences the greatest change in their sense of belonging? p.400:Etsuko: from the moment Tatsuo was born, she had been filled with grief and self-doubt because she was never good enough. Even though she had failed, being a mother was eternal; part of her life wouldn’t end with her death. p.378:Your mother(Sunja)was a great lady; my wife thought she was the best of the best. Tough and smart and always fair to everyone. 9. Compare the many parent-child relationships in the novel. What hopes and dreams does each parent hold for their children – and are those hopes rewarded? p.405:Mozasu:Uncle Yoseb gave him(Solomon)the name of a king form the Bible instead. I think he did it because my father was a minister
10. Pachinko begins with begins with the family of a humble fisherman that, through the generations – and through times of poverty, violence, and extreme discrimination – gains wealth and success. What were the ways in which the family manages to not only survive, but eventually thrive? Don’t lose hope, it’s the light for the dark road. Keep your best virtue with you, honest, hardworking is the best treasure to fight against challenges. p.36:Hansu:You(Sunja) and I are from island. One day, you’ll understand that people from islands are different. We have more freedom. p.36:Most people told you their thoughts in words and later confirmed them in actions. Very few people lied well. He(Hansu) preferred clever women over dumb ones and hardworking women over lazy ones who knew only how to lie on their backs. p.474:Solomon:I worked and made money because I thought it would make me a man. I thought people would respect me if I was rich. p.471: Solomon: Even if there were hundred bad Japanese, if there was one good one.
11. What did you take away from the ending of the book? Do you believe that is what the author intended? We start to pay more attention to the ruled Korean in WWI(1914-1918) and WWII(1939-1945), and show more respect to their great spirit. p.470: She covered the hole with dirt and grass, then did what she could to clean her hands with her handkerchief, but dirt remained beneath her fingers. Dirt is the homophones: dirt in spirit or dirt in flesh.
12. Why do you think the author chose Pachinko for the title? For all the colonial Korean, they have no choice, Pachinko is a game, most players will lost money, but they learn the hope from it. And find the chance to win again for their real life. To give us a chance to understand those people who have no choice still can face the world with warm heart. Love is one thing that transcends time, space-Brand. Always look up at the sky , even we are in the dirt. Today was a fun and lively discussion led by Torey. She was very attentive not only gave us a well-prepared summary and questions, also led us into the topic very lively that brought us a heated discussion. owing to by the age of the war II, that occurred the conflict between Korea and Japan, and the people strived living in the age,Torey quoted a word from the book to us "History has failed us, but no matter", We also have argued who is the hero in the book? Carol siad Hansu, and Torey thought Isak, Ha! ha! very sharp in the discussion, also throughout the book that womans lot is to suffer, do you believe that women suffer more than men, Carol said "Men", but I said "women". Good questions, Torey, thank you so much for your wonderful lead.(Florence)
Related Reading: 1.Min Jin Lee: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Min_Jin_Lee 2.Pachinko: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34051011-pachinko 3.Min Jin Lee interview: https://youtu.be/lvb4-uYK2x0 4.Min Jin Lee speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kscMU-W7tKU&app=desktop 5.Min Jin Lee ”history failed us, but no matter”: https://youtu.be/0otGC98IPIg 6.Pachinko with Min Jin Leehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuzT1tdCRZM&feature=youtu.be 7. Pachinko with Min Jin Lee: https://youtu.be/00kcMB7hPWI 8. Pachinko with Min Jin Lee: https://youtu.be/cqWK_iiwzHg
Dear All, Today’s discussion of “Fates and Furies”, led by Peggy, was lively and engaging. Several group members were irritated by Lotto, the happy-go lucky narcissist husband. Carol was a great heckler who prompted us to consider whether Mathilde gave sacrificially to help her husband succeed in his career or was a greedy controller who wanted fame and revenge. One question that the book raised is whether marriage is about sex or agape love. Carol found this book to be too literal and wordy in talking about trivial daily life. In our discussion, we observed that in the context of marriage, we are all, like Lotto and Mathilde, confronted with issues that are rooted in our original family. We were also reminded that to "choose what you like, like what you choose" is a great lesson for us to learn. So many things in life develop over a long time, so we can decide to enjoy the process, and not just the product. If we keep blaming others, we will lose the beauty of our life. Just like Torey, we all find that this book club is a great place to express our true feelings about the book. Theresa didnt agree with ”We are all starstuff.” -Carl Sagan, Cosmologist" she reminds us that like "dust", we are smaller than stars, so we should be humble to see through our past and enjoy the here and now, cherish what we have and keep walking together! Part of our struggles will turn out beautiful!(thank you for Peggy’s sweet modifying for the sentences)
June Activity: Book: Pachinko Leader: Torey Ploeger Time: 1 p.m. June 3., 2019 Place: Qubit Cafe (Hanshin Arena) No.6, Lane 50, Bo-Ai 3 Road, Zuo Ying District, Kaohsiung. Tel:07-3459477 Parking: in the basement of the Qubit Cafe You can have your lunch meal around 12:00 noon before our meeting. We look forward to seeing you. Please let me know if you will be absent in the meeting. Florence Cheng - Correspondent |
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