Min Jin Lee's writing style and structure, in many ways, is similar yet unique to other texts we have read in this class. In comparison to books we read last quarter, There There by Tommy Orange and Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie, Pachinko, takes a similar writing style. In all three of these books, the readers are presented with multiple character perspectives that each add something different to the plot or meaning of the story. For instance, in Home Fire, each character's perspective adds a different way of looking at things and thus adding nuance to the story and causing the reader to realize just how attached they were to each character and their viewpoints. Before we read Parvaiz's perspective, we all had this mental image of Parvaiz being seen as a terrorist who betrayed his family, but then we learn his own perspective and have sympathy for him. While in There There, it has a similar effect going on, but the focus is much more on just how complicated everyone's own lives are and showcases just how different they each are, but, in the end, they all intersect in the same place; the Powwow. Everyone was living their own lives, dealing with their own problems, until each of their decisions leads them to their own ending at the Powwow. In contrast to both of these stories, Pachinko's multiple perspectives are constantly showing us a bigger more nuanced picture that give the sense that it is one story with the perspectives complimenting each other and giving the reader a deeper understanding. In addition, the different perspectives don't have as formal of a break between one character's thoughts to another's, in comparison to the other two books. This provides the reader with the feeling that this is one story being told through different people rather than differing perspectives/people intersecting in each other's lives.
I personally, so far, appreciate the differing perspectives because it provides me with answers to questions much faster than the other two books, where I would have had to wait, or not be given an answer at all. Both of these types of structures adds different meaning to the stories and the impact they have on readers.
Hey Monique! I liked your thoughts on perspective techniques in some of the books we've read. To be honest, I prefer the slow mystery and added nuance in There There and Home Fire to getting all the perspectives at once in Pachinko, but I appreciate that each strategy can serve different purposes and appeal to different readers.
ReplyDeleteHey Monique. I also noticed the differences between There There/Home Fire and Pachinko in terms of the way the information is provided to the reader. Like you, I appreciate having the different perspectives from all the characters in Pachinko because it helps me understand everything in its context and it gives me a deeper understanding of the novel.
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