"Homegoing" follows two half-sisters in Ghana whose lives take starkly different paths. One marries an Englishman and lives comfortably, while the other is sold into slavery and ends up in America.
Through alternating chapters, the story moves generation by generation through their descendants, giving readers powerful snapshots of slavery, colonialism, and racism. Similar to "Pachinko," Gyasi skillfully captures themes of generational trauma, identity, and resilience.
Each character threads together a narrative of struggle and hope, building a profound story about how history shapes families.
Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club" centers around four Chinese immigrant mothers and their American-born daughters in San Francisco.
Through interconnected stories, readers understand the cultural and generational gaps between mothers who cling to their past traditions and daughters caught between two worlds.
Comparable to "Pachinko," this novel thoughtfully explores the complexities of identity, belonging, and family tensions arising from immigration.
The authentic, heartfelt characters add depth and realism, drawing readers into their personal journeys and struggles to bridge the gap between generations and cultures.
"Middlesex" narrates the life of Cal Stephanides and his Greek-American family's history across generations and continents. Eugenides traces their journey from Greece through immigration to Detroit, weaving personal identities closely with historical events.
Cal, born intersex, undergoes an intricate personal exploration of identity amid family secrets and societal pressures.
Just as in "Pachinko," the multi-generational format enriches the narrative depth, offering vivid insights into the immigrant experience, prejudice, and personal resilience in confronting complex issues that shape a family's legacy.
Gabriel García Márquez's masterpiece, "One Hundred Years of Solitude," chronicles the rise and fall of the Buendía family in the imaginary Colombian town of Macondo.
Rich with magical realism, the narrative explores repeated patterns, family destiny, and the cyclical nature of history.
This compelling portrayal of family fates echoes "Pachinko," where generations struggle against prejudice and fate, showing the profound ways people are tied to their ancestors.
Readers become absorbed in the vivid storytelling, empathizing deeply with the family as their history unfolds beautifully yet tragically.
"The House of the Spirits" portrays several generations of the Trueba family amidst political turmoil in an unnamed Latin American country.
Each generation experiences personal drama, secrets, love, and political upheaval, showcasing how individuals and families are intertwined with their country's turbulent history.
Similar to "Pachinko," Allende builds strong, complex characters whose lives reflect broader social realities.
The novel's combination of magical realism and stark social and political conflicts reveals how generations carry the memories of their ancestors, shaping their identities and actions.
Abraham Verghese's "Cutting for Stone" tells the emotional story of twin brothers born in Ethiopia to an Indian nun and a British surgeon. Raised among doctors and hospitals, the twins inherit deep family secrets and complicated legacies.
Verghese vividly combines personal narratives with the sweeping political conflicts of Ethiopia, creating a stirring depiction of identity, belonging, and family relationships.
Like "Pachinko," the novel captures how personal choices resonate through generations, highlighting the courage and struggles involved in navigating shifting cultural and familial expectations.
"A Suitable Boy" explores interconnected families in a newly independent India after Partition. The novel skillfully mixes politics, social customs, romance, and family expectations as characters grapple with tradition and modernity.
Seth brings vivid life to various characters and social landscapes, inviting readers to invest deeply in their personal troubling decisions and experiences.
Similar to "Pachinko," this work captures sprawling family drama amidst historical upheaval, offering authentic portraits of individuals defining their identities amid societal pressures, family politics, and the search for love and belonging.
In "East of Eden," Steinbeck deeply examines good and evil through multiple generations of families in California's Salinas Valley. Inspired by the biblical tale of Cain and Abel, the novel delves into family legacy, sibling rivalry, and moral struggle.
Richly detailed characters confront questions about human nature, destiny, and personal responsibility.
Steinbeck's expansive narrative shares similar themes with "Pachinko," including how individual decisions shape family destinies and how generational patterns endure and echo long after original conflicts began.
In "The Lowland," Lahiri introduces two brothers growing up in Calcutta whose lives diverge dramatically after involvement in political activism during a tumultuous period.
Their personal choices profoundly affect their family, spanning multiple generations and nations from India to America. As in "Pachinko," the impact of political unrest and violence shapes their family in profound ways, carrying emotional consequences across generations.
Lahiri subtly portrays how family bonds and secrets define individual fates, identities, and their search for resolution and belonging amid continued uncertainty.
"The Kite Runner" follows the path of friendship, betrayal, and redemption set against Afghanistan's turbulent recent history.
Amir, the book's narrator, struggles with guilt and comes to terms with personal and political burdens as he moves from a privileged childhood in Kabul to immigrant struggles in America.
Hosseini's story echoes themes of "Pachinko," particularly how past mistakes and betrayals reverberate through time, demanding resolution.
Amid historical upheavals, the novel intimately captures characters navigate difficult moral choices, forcing readers to confront profound dilemmas of identity and redemption.
Set in Afghanistan during decades of war and upheaval, "A Thousand Splendid Suns" intertwines the powerful stories of two Afghan women whose lives are connected by tragedy, power struggles, and profound friendship.
The women find strength as they endure abuses and societal oppression amid continued conflict. Hosseini brings dignity and humanity to the narrative similar to "Pachinko," illuminating marginalized voices whose resilience shines through hardship.
The bond between the characters offers powerful insight into how family ties emerge from both hope and shared pain during crisis.
In "The God of Small Things," twins Rahel and Estha grow up amid complicated family tensions in Kerala, India. Roy's intricate storytelling reveals deeply hidden secrets, issues of caste, politics, and forbidden love.
With lyrical, poetic prose, Roy closely examines how childhood experiences affect identity, relationships, and emotional stability. Just as in "Pachinko," family secrets and societal taboos profoundly impact the children's lives, influencing their entire adult trajectories.
This emotionally intense portrayal offers a rich exploration of how personal lives interact with societal pressures and cultural norms.
Zadie Smith's "White Teeth" follows the stories of two immigrant families in multicultural London. Through humor and empathy, Smith explores questions surrounding community, religious beliefs, racial identity, and family expectations.
Generational differences and cultural clashes become brilliantly vivid as younger characters confront their family's expectations and cultural traditions.
Much as "Pachinko" explores different immigrant experiences across generations, "White Teeth" powerfully depicts the struggles and aspirations that shape identities within families adapting to life in a culturally diverse, often conflicted environment.
Bennett's "The Vanishing Half" focuses on twin sisters from a Southern Black community who later choose strikingly different paths; one sister lives openly as Black, while the other secretly passes for White.
The novel thoughtfully explores how identity shapes family, race, and personal choice, causing profound consequences for subsequent generations.
Themes parallel "Pachinko" as Bennett explores family's enduring tensions and complexities while highlighting social pressures and struggles around identity and belonging.
The characters' journeys deeply touch readers, as choices and secrets ripple through generations and relationships.
"Salt Houses" powerfully captures four generations of a Palestinian family as they struggle with displacement, exile, and the search for home. Alyan richly portrays personal struggles intertwined with historical upheaval across multiple regions due to war and political crises.
The family's emotional journey echoes "Pachinko," where displacement profoundly shapes identity and resilience becomes critical.
Alyan's compassionate storytelling highlights how memories, identity, and belonging shift across generations, emphasizing the immigrant experience deeply impacted by historical events and longing for stability amid uncertainty.