A lot can happen in a lifetime, but how much can happen in several? Well, if Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko and Isabel Allende’s Violeta are anything to go by, the answer is a lot. Multigenerational tales are fast becoming one of my favourite sub-genres of novel, and here are my reasons why:
Pachinko – Min Jin Lee
‘Living every day in the presence of those who refuse to acknowledge your humanity takes great courage.’
Spanning four generations and almost a hundred years, Pachinko chronicles the lived experiences of a Korean family living in 20th century Japan. Due to the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1910 and its dissolution in 1945 following their surrender during World War II, this was a tumultuous period of in the history of both countries, with the after-effects felt long after Korea reclaimed their land.
At first, this book greatly intimidated me because, shamefully, this is an area of history which I knew next to nothing about. However, Pachinko, which Lee revealed took 30 years to write due to its extensive research, really educated me on both what was happening in both countries, and in particular the experiences of Koreans who emigrated to Japan in the earlier half of the century. Pachinko shines a light upon the hardships that these Koreans had to endure because of overt prejudice, leaving the reader much more informed about this period of history - something which I always look for in a book. At over 500 pages in length, I originally kept putting off reading Pachinko, but once I’d picked it up, I raced through it. The novel’s length means the reader forms such an emotional attachment to the protagonists and becomes fully immersed in their stories, relationships, and problems, seeing how they evolve as time goes on. Each of the core characters are portrayed in such a three-dimensional way that I felt as though I personally knew them, and I was left desperate for the story to continue. Overall, Pachinko is a truly special story, one which both pulls at the heartstrings and educates the reader on a period of history often overlooked in Western society.
Violeta – Isabel Allende
‘After a century, time is slipping through my fingers. Where did those hundred years go?’
Published earlier this year, Allende’s most recent novel Violeta follows the extensive and vibrant lifetime of her eponymous protagonist. Although the country in which the novel takes place is never named, the reader can easily deduce that it is set in Chile, context which is important for fully understanding the novel. Like Korea and Japan, Chile went through enormous change during the twentieth century, seeing world wars, pandemics, a military coup. With the contextual backdrop of Violeta’s story being one of instability, the trials which she faces over the century of her life mirror the shifts which occur in the world around her. Again, I learnt so much from both Allende’s commentary of societal change and the analyses of Violeta’s personal experiences.
In the novel’s introduction, Violeta writes to her grandson, ‘I think you’ll see that my life story is worthy of a novel, because of my sins more than my virtues’, and this is true. As a protagonist, Violeta is flawed, often acting selfishly or making questionable decisions. However, I think this is what makes this novel so compelling, as rather than to use Violeta as an example, we are encouraged to consider the lessons which she has learnt from her mistakes more than the deeds themselves. The same goes for the characters which she encounters throughout her life, all of which, from her troubled children to her turbulent romantic partners, are implemented for a reason.
Opening amidst the 1920 Spanish flu outbreak and closing during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Violeta comes full circle. Violeta’s story is at once one of struggle and beauty, but ultimately, one of life and all which it encompasses. Izzie Naish @readbyizzie
Comentarios