Pachinko Quotes

“A good God wouldn't have let my babies die. I can't believe in that. My babies did nothing wrong."
"I agree. They did nothing wrong." He looked at her thoughtfully. "But a God that did everything we thought was right and good wouldn't be the creator of the universe. He would be our puppet. He wouldn't be God. There's more to everything than we know.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“He never told him to study, but rather to learn, and it occurred to him that there was a marked difference. Learning was like playing, not labor.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“People are rotten everywhere you go. They're no good. You want to see a very bad man? Make an ordinary man successful beyond his imagination. Let's see how good he is when he can do whatever he wants.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“His Presbyterian minister father had believed in a divine design, and Mozasu believed that life was like this game where the player could adjust the dials yet also expect the uncertainty of factors he couldn’t control. He understood why his customers wanted to play something that looked fixed but which also left room for randomness and hope.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“When she was there, she had not loved it enough.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“You people work together to make sure nothing ever changes. Sho ga nai. Sho ga nai. That’s all I ever hear.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“A good God wouldn't have let my babies die. I can't believe in that. My babies did nothing wrong."
"I agree. They did nothing wrong." He looked at her thoughtfully. "But a God that did everything we thought was right and good wouldn't be the creator of the universe. He would be our puppet. He wouldn't be God. There's more to everything than we know.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“If anything, he wanted a very simple life filled with nature, books, and perhaps a few children. He knew that later in life, he also wanted to be let alone to read and to be quiet.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“What did Joseph say to his brothers who had sold him into slavery when he saw them again? “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“Maybe my life can be significant—not on a grand scale like my brother, but to a few people”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“For a woman, the man you marry will determine the quality of your life completely. A good man is a decent life, and a bad man is a cursed life-but no matter what, always expect suffering, and just keep working hard.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“The Bible said that a wise person must rein in his tongue. Not everything you wanted to say should be said.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“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? 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.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“You must be a diligent person with a humble heart. Have compassion for everyone. Even your enemies.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“Life is full of things he cannot control so he must adapt. My boy has to survive.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“Of course she is! Sunja-ya, a woman’s life is endless work and suffering. There is suffering and then more suffering. It’s better to expect it, you know. You’re becoming a woman now, so you should be told this. For a woman, the man you marry will determine the quality of your life completely. A good man is a decent life, and a bad man is a cursed life—but no matter what, always expect suffering, and just keep working hard. No one will take care of a poor woman—just ourselves.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“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”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“You can’t fix Korea. Not even a hundred of you or a hundred of me can fix Korea. The Japs are out and now Russia, China, and America are fighting over our shitty little country.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“She wasn't hideous or shameful to look at, but she had prematurely reached the stage in a woman's life when no one noticed her entering or leaving a room.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“because he knew well enough to draw a thick line between what was public and what was private.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“The penalties incurred for the mistakes you made had to be paid out in full to the members of your family. But she didn’t believe that she could ever discharge these sums.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“Your grandmother Sunja and great-aunt Kyunghee visit me on Saturdays. Did you know that? They pray for me, too. I don’t understand the Jesus stuff, but it’s something holy to have people touch you when you’re sick. The nurses here are afraid to touch me. Your grandmother Sunja holds my hands, and your great-aunt Kyunghee puts cool towels on my head when I get too hot. They’re kind to me, though I’m a bad person—”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“In life, there was so much insult and injury, and she had no choice but to collect what was hers. But now she wished to take Solomon’s shame, too, and add it to her pile, though she was already overwhelmed.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“Sunja had made a mistake; however, she didn’t believe that her son came from a bad seed. The Japanese said that Koreans had too much anger and heat in their blood. Seeds, blood. How could you fight such hopeless ideas? Noa had been a sensitive child who had believed that if he followed the rules and was the best, then somehow the hostile world would change its mind. His death may have been her fault for having allowed him to believe in such cruel ideals.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“Sins couldn’t be laundered by good results.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“babies did nothing wrong.” “I agree. They did nothing wrong.” He looked at her thoughtfully. “But a God that did everything we thought was right and good wouldn’t be the creator of the universe. He would be our puppet. He wouldn’t be God. There’s more to everything than we can know.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“You think I like it here? No, I don’t like it here. But here, I know what to expect. You don’t want to be poor. Changho-ya, you’ve worked hard for me, you’ve had enough food and money, so you’ve started to think about ideas – that’s normal. Patriotism is just an idea, so is capitalism or communism. But ideas can make men forget their own interests. And the guys in charge will exploit men who believe in ideas too much. You can’t fix Korea. Not even a hundred of you or a hundred of me can fix Korea. The Japs are out and now Russia, China and America are fighting over our shitty little country. You think you can fight them? Forget Korea. Focus on something you can have.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“Hoonie would have known enough not to want something he could not have—this forbearance was something that any normal peasant would have accepted about his life and what he was allowed to desire.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“Once, when Solomon asked her what California was, she had replied, “Heaven.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

“…Mozasu believed that life was like this game where the player could adjust the dials yet also expect the uncertainty of factors he couldn’t control. He understood why his customers wanted to play something that looked fixed but which also left room for randomness and hope.
pp. 292-3

Every morning, Mozasu and his men tinkered with the machines to fix the outcomes – there could only be a few winners and a lot of losers. 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? 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.”
― Min Jin Lee, Pachinko