WHAT A BOOK! I think Pachinko is one of those books that could get anybody out of a reading slump, which is counterintuitive given how long it is. But the story just flows so well, and the characters are so well-rounded and lovable that it's hard to put it down (or stop thinking about it when you do put it down). Each stage of the story built upon the last in such a slow, beautiful way that it almost felt like I had been tricked into being so attached to the characters and their lives (like the frog boiling metaphor). I particularly enjoyed following Sunja's story throughout the book and seeing how she adapted to each new horrible or great set of circumstances that came up. Her tenacity and endless capacity to care for her loved ones was so beautiful. I also loved Kyunghee and the way her story played out kind of in the background of everyone else's but was still compelling. And throughout, one of my favorite aspects was how the setting for each installment/stage was so thoroughly described and illustrated, especially since the setting had such an unavoidable impact on the characters' lives. I felt like I could picture each place so clearly, even though I've never been to Korea or Japan and especially not in that time period. I loved Pachinko, and I know I'll return to this in the future.