11 Mesmerizing Books for Pachinko Fans

By Kaitlyn Johnston
Five books with various covers are displayed on a blue background.

These transporting narratives will sweep you away just like Min Jin Lee’s bestseller.

Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko is an epic family saga that follows four generations of a Korean family in 20th-century Japan. The celebrated historical fiction novel explores themes of loss, loyalty, ambition, and sacrifice — and was recently adapted into a drama series on Apple TV+. If Lee’s acclaimed narrative has you yearning for more, you’re not alone. The following books like Pachinko deliver rich family drama, evocative historical backdrops, and heartfelt stories of identity and belonging.

A woman stands at the edge of a rocky shore, gazing at the horizon where the sky meets the sea, as seagulls fly overhead, capturing a moment of tranquility and contemplation.

Beyond That, the Sea

By Laura Spence-Ash

A tale of love, family, and finding home in far-off places, Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash is truly captivating. In 1940, working-class Londoners Millie and Reginald Thompson make the difficult decision to send their young daughter, Beatrix, to America to escape the onslaught of World War II. Upon arriving in Boston, young Bea is taken into the home of the wealthy Gregorys — and though she initially feels lost and alone, Bea soon adapts to her adoptive setting, making new friends and finding joy in living in America. But when the war in Europe ends, Bea’s parents summon her back to London, pulling Bea between the world she left behind and the life she’s grown to love. A beautifully written novel that spans the dark days of WWII to the 1970s, Beyond That, the Sea is a marvel” (Ann Packer, author of The Dive from Clausen’s Pier).

Cover of the novel "penitence" by kristin koval, featuring an abstract painting of slender white birch trees set against a vibrant blue background.

Penitence

By Kristin Koval

Coming in February 2025, Penitence by Kristin Koval is a compelling story of family love and redemption that spans decades, jumping from rural Colorado to New York City. When a murder drives Angie and David to reach out for help, characters from Angie’s past emerge — and awaken complicated feelings. Angie is determined to protect her family, but to do so, she’ll have to face past love and the guilt of a long-ago tragedy. Tender and propulsive, Penitence is both thrilling and heartfelt.

Homegoing

By Yaa Gyasi

International bestseller Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi follows two half-sisters in 18th-century Ghana and the lives of eight generations that come after them. Born in two different villages, Effia and Esi lead two drastically different lives: Effia becomes the wife of an Englishman and lives in Cape Coast Castle, while Esi is taken captive and sold into slavery. Through rich and suspenseful prose, the novel traces the diverging paths of these siblings and their descendants, traveling from the villages of Ghana to the plantations in the American South and the streets of Jazz Age Harlem, capturing in stark detail the generational impact of bondage and oppression. 

The Great Reclamation

By Rachel Heng

Set in 20th-century Singapore, The Great Reclamation by Rachel Heng is an epic coming-of-age story about love, family, and the lifelong search for belonging. Ah Boon has little interest in fishing, though he was born in a fishing village. Yet when he learns he has a unique skill that could benefit his community, he feels he’s found a purpose. Then Imperial Japan invades, and Ah Boon’s world is turned upside down by war. Now, he and Siok Mei, his friend, must navigate this new era of instability as everything around them — the people they love, their village, and their homeland — races towards transformation. 

The Vanishing Half

By Brit Bennett

A New York Times bestseller, The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet is a generational story that reckons with race, identity, family secrets, and the way the past impacts the present. Identical twin sisters Desiree and Stella Vignes, born into a Southern Black community, decide to run away at the age of 16. Soon Stella discovers she can pass for white; she keeps her identity a secret, marries a white man, and moves away to California. Desiree, meanwhile, stays far closer to home and embarks on a different path. Years later, the twins’ lives entwine yet again when their daughters meet unexpectedly. Eloquent and engaging, The Vanishing Half is an altogether affecting novel.

Beasts of a Little Land

By Juhea Kim

Set in early-20th-century occupied Korea, Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim is an enthralling story of love and war. The epic narrative introduces us to Jade, a young girl sold by her family to a courtesan school, and JungHo, an orphaned boy who begs on the streets of Seoul to survive. Soon, Jade and JungHo develop a bond that will grow and evolve as they face down destiny, from beasts big and small to blossoming romance and their country’s fight for independence.

A Long Petal of the Sea

By Isabel Allende

A New York Times bestseller, Isabel Allende’s A Long Petal of the Sea spans decades and continents, following the journey of Roser and Victor as they flee war-torn Spain in the 1930s. Across the ocean, they become reluctant partners in surviving their exile, trying to make a new life and home while they wait for the day they can return to Spain. An enrapturing book about family, companionship, and the search for belonging, A Long Petal of the Sea is a victorious work of historical fiction.

The Island of Sea Women

By Lisa See

Bestselling author Lisa See’s The Island of Sea Women plunges into family, history, and the lasting bonds forged by the choices we make. On Korea’s Jeju Island, generations of women have learned to free dive in the sea to harvest food. Mi-ja and Young-sook, two young girls from different backgrounds, step into this lineage and begin a friendship that will weather the changes of their world. A decades-spanning novel that begins in the 1930s under Japan’s colonial rule and weaves through years of Korean history to the present day, See’s narrative is a “powerful and essential story of humanity” (The Los Angeles Review of Books). 

A Fine Balance

By Rohinton Mistry

Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance is a rich, complex novel that chronicles the joys and stark realities of life in contemporary India. The novel begins in 1975. The government has just declared a state of emergency, and four people — Dina Dalal, Ishvar Darji, his nephew Omprakash Darji, and a student named Maneck Kohlah — will find their lives entwined in unexpected ways as society shifts around them. 

 

How We Disappeared

By Jing-Jing Lee

An affecting epic, How We Disappeared by Jing-Jang Lee is a “heartbreaking but hopeful story about memory, trauma, and ultimately love” (The New York Times). In Singapore in 1942, Japanese soldiers destroy a village, leaving three survivors behind, one of whom is just a child. Nearby, 17-year-old Wang Di is taken captive and forced into sexual slavery at a Japanese military brothel — a trauma that will haunt her for a lifetime. Decades later, Kevin, Wang Di’s young grandson, overhears his grandmother speaking about the past and embarks on his own search for understanding. 

 

The Covenant of Water

By Abraham Verghese

An instant New York Times bestseller, The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese introduces a family plagued by a baffling condition — at least one person in every generation dies by drowning. Set in Kerala, India, between 1900 and 1977, this family epic begins when 12-year-old Mariamma travels by boat to wed a 40-year-old man in an arranged marriage. Over the course of decades, Mariamma will experience heartbreaking loss and profound love in an absorbing multigenerational story of family, faith, and healing.

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