Books Like Pachinko: Powerful Multigenerational Sagas Rooted in History, Identity, and Resilience

Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko is a sweep­ing his­tor­i­cal epic that traces the lives of a Kore­an fam­i­ly liv­ing in Japan across four gen­er­a­tions. It’s a sto­ry of sur­vival, dis­crim­i­na­tion, sac­ri­fice, and iden­ti­ty — all told with rich emo­tion­al depth and cul­tur­al nuance. If you were cap­ti­vat­ed by Pachinko ’s pow­er­ful sto­ry­telling and lay­ered char­ac­ters, these books will res­onate with you on a deep lev­el.

1. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Key Highlights:

• Fol­lows two half-sis­ters from 18th-cen­tu­ry Ghana
• Explores the African dias­po­ra through gen­er­a­tions
• Themes: slav­ery, col­o­niza­tion, fam­i­ly lega­cy

Why You Should Read It:
Like Pachinko , Home­go­ing offers an unfor­get­table multi­gen­er­a­tional jour­ney. It presents deeply per­son­al and his­tor­i­cal per­spec­tives while illu­mi­nat­ing how the lega­cy of trau­ma and resilience can shape fam­i­lies across con­ti­nents and cen­turies.

2. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

Key Highlights:

• A moth­er-daugh­ter sto­ry span­ning decades
• Set in rur­al Chi­na and the US adop­tion sys­tem
• Themes: cul­tur­al iden­ti­ty, sep­a­ra­tion, tra­di­tion

Why You Should Read It:
Lisa See crafts emo­tion­al­ly lay­ered nar­ra­tives about Chi­nese her­itage and fam­i­ly bonds. If you loved the heart-wrench­ing deci­sions in Pachinko , this nov­el will move you with its ten­der explo­ration of love, sac­ri­fice, and iden­ti­ty across bor­ders.

3. The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich

Key Highlights:

• Inspired by the author’s grand­fa­ther’s activism
• Set on a North Dako­ta reser­va­tion in the 1950s
• Themes: Indige­nous rights, com­mu­ni­ty, resilience

Why You Should Read It:
This Nation­al Book Award win­ner shares Pachinko ’s com­mit­ment to giv­ing voice to mar­gin­al­ized com­mu­ni­ties. It’s a pow­er­ful, poet­ic nov­el that inter­twines per­son­al his­to­ry with polit­i­cal strug­gle and cul­tur­al sur­vival.

4. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

Key Highlights:

• Set dur­ing Indi­a’s Emer­gency peri­od in the 1970s
• Fol­lows four strangers whose lives become inter­twined
• Themes: caste, pover­ty, hope, endurance

Why You Should Read It:
If you appre­ci­ate Pachinko ’s por­tray­al of peo­ple nav­i­gat­ing sys­temic injus­tice and his­tor­i­cal upheaval, A Fine Bal­ance will deeply affect you. It’s a poignant, sweep­ing nov­el that por­trays human dig­ni­ty amid har­row­ing cir­cum­stances.

5. The Leavers by Lisa Ko

Key Highlights:

• Fol­lows a Chi­nese boy adopt­ed by white par­ents in the US
• Dual nar­ra­tive between moth­er and son
• Themes: immi­gra­tion, belong­ing, iden­ti­ty

Why You Should Read It:
This nov­el explores dis­place­ment and cul­tur­al dis­con­nect with aching pre­ci­sion. Like Pachinko , it asks what it means to lose your home — and whether it’s ever tru­ly pos­si­ble to find it again.

6. The Mountain Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

Key Highlights:

• A Viet­namese fam­i­ly saga span­ning wars and polit­i­cal upheaval
• Told through the voic­es of a grand­moth­er and grand­daugh­ter
• Themes: resilience, tra­di­tion, sto­ry­telling

Why You Should Read It:
Deeply lyri­cal and emo­tion­al­ly rich, this nov­el mir­rors Pachinko in its his­tor­i­cal sweep and inti­mate por­tray­al of fam­i­ly sur­vival through gen­er­a­tional trau­ma. It is both a cul­tur­al trib­ute and a human sto­ry of hope.

7. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Key Highlights:

• Mem­oir by the Japan­ese Break­fast singer
• Explores grief, Kore­an-Amer­i­can iden­ti­ty, and moth­er-daugh­ter bonds
• Deep emo­tion­al and cul­tur­al insight

Why You Should Read It:
Although a mem­oir, Cry­ing in H Mart res­onates with Pachinko ’s themes of iden­ti­ty, her­itage, and famil­ial love. It’s an inti­mate look at the strug­gle to pre­serve cul­tur­al roots while liv­ing between worlds.

Final Thoughts: Why These Books Are Perfect for Pachinko Fans

What makes Pachinko unfor­get­table is its bal­ance of his­tor­i­cal weight and per­son­al emo­tion. The books list­ed above share that same abil­i­ty to inter­weave fam­i­ly his­to­ry with broad­er social and polit­i­cal forces, often spot­light­ing under­rep­re­sent­ed voic­es. They chal­lenge, edu­cate, and move read­ers while hon­or­ing the resilience of those whose sto­ries too often go untold.

If you’re drawn to sweep­ing, char­ac­ter-dri­ven nar­ra­tives that hon­or cul­ture, strug­gle, and sur­vival — these books will deeply enrich your read­ing expe­ri­ence.