This is a story about a young Korean woman trying to find her own path under Japanese occupation of the country. It felt like a rather quiet story, trickling along gently, but the short chapters make for an easy reading experience. However, I don't think the comparison to Pachinko is fair, as this felt a lot less developed and much smaller in scope both in terms of plot and characters (though this one is a debut novel, afaik, so certain concessions can be made). I found the writing at times frustrating; there were several times when it referred to the protagonist's previous actions, such as a habit, that seemed to come out of nowhere as those actions had never gotten any page time.

Overall, this is for you if you want an easy historical read and to learn a bit about life in Japanese-occupied Korea, but don't expect a riveting plot or deep insights into character's inner life.

Finally, the first (bold) paragraph encompassed the entire arc of the story, including what happens in the last 5-10%, which seems like a spoiler? Maybe this will get changed by publication date.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the e-arc!