Narrator Allison Hirato’s slow pacing does not enhance this multigenerational story. Furthermore, she offers little delineation between characters, even those of different genders. Still, the clarity of her diction and her expressiveness compensate some for those deficits. At the heart of this novel is Sunja, who was born during before WWII in Japanese-occupied Korea. Sunja perseveres with integrity through misfortune: her own, her sons’, and grandsons’. That the family comes to make its livelihood by running pachinko parlors—pachinko being a pinball-like game of chance involving balls careening unpredictably—reflects Senja’s own random fortunes. While Hirato’s reading would have benefited by being less deliberative and more brisk, PACHINKO remains gently affecting as an audio. K.W. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
Shockingly, there’s more to historical fiction than just World War II (hard to believe, I know). We love historical fiction, delving into a different time, historical event, and sometimes even cultures with stories that enrich our minds while taking our hearts on a journey. With plenty of time periods and moments of history to choose […]
Stories are a kind of inheritance, passed from ancestor to descendent, teaching lessons and keeping memories alive. But while some are passed down, others pass through — blood, distance, and most of all — time. These intergenerational epics are the ones that linger with us, and we’re confident they’ll resonate with you, too.
Lions and lambs and literature, oh my! We’ve got you covered from Ides to Equinox with the episodes below… We kick off the month with magical realism and more in Eloghosa Osunde’s debut novel Vagabonds! We’re live at B&N’s flagship store on Union Square in New York City with Will Schwalbe (The End of Your […]
Ashley C. Ford’s essays and journalism have run in The Guardian and Buzzfeed…