
Pachinko
South Korean and American novelist, born 1968.
Pachinko is a 2017 novel by Min Jin Lee. It was shortlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction in 2017.
In historical fiction, family saga
On 2 of the 15 lists it was eligible for.
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At a glance
- Author
- Min Jin Lee
- First published
- 2017
- Length
- 576 pages (UK paperback)
- Awards
- National Book Award for Fiction shortlist, 2017
- Genre
- Historical fiction, Family saga, Migration and identity, Class and society
Is Pachinko worth reading?
2 of the 15 best-of lists it could have made include it: The 100 best books of the 21st century (The New York Times) and the National Book Award for Fiction.
| List | Place | Original |
|---|---|---|
| National Book Award for Fiction (winners and finalists) (National Book Foundation, 2017) | Shortlist | See the list |
| The 100 best books of the 21st century (The New York Times, 2024) | No. 15 | See the list |
Best edition of Pachinko
The edition we link to is the Apollo paperback (2020), 576 pages.
- Publisher
- Apollo (paperback, 2020)
- Pages
- 576
- ISBN
- 9781838930509
How critics, prizes and readers rate Pachinko
Critics rate it most highly: it earned 22% of the points available on critics' lists, against 13% on prize lists and 0% on readers' and booksellers' lists.
Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work
Books like Pachinko
If you liked Pachinko, try Wolf Hall, Midnight's Children or Beloved.



