111 pages 3 hours read

Min Jin Lee

Pachinko

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2017

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Book 2, Chapters 11-15

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Book 2: “Motherland 1939-1962”

Book 2, Chapter 11 Summary: “October 1955”

Worried about Mozasu’s fighting at school, Sunja makes him stay with her after school at the confectionary stand. But when he gets in trouble by punching a Japanese “gentleman” who had been harassing his friend, the police arrive. Goro-san, the pachinko parlor owner, talks to the police, vouching for Mozasu’s character. Sunja asks Goro if Mozasu can work for him and Goro agrees to make him a pachinko boy.

Book 2, Chapter 12 Summary: “March 1956”

Mozasu enjoys working in the pachinko gambling parlors, where nearly everyone is Korean. He no longer gets into fights and works hard. Goro takes Mozasu to get some new clothes. The seamstress, Totoyama, is Haruki’s mother. Totoyama is interrupted from her work by her other son, who has cognitive disabilities. Goro seems worried and ends up ordering lots of clothes from her. When they leave and Totoyama shuts the door, Totoyama cries with relief, knowing she has money for rent and food.

Book 2, Chapter 13 Summary: “1957”

Sunja, Kyunghee, Yangjin, and Yoseb try to figure out how to pay for Noa’s education. Yoseb tells the women that