Ding, ding, ding rings the Pachinko bells

I can’t blame the drugs, but maybe I can blame the enthusiasm of my first outing post surgery. Kathy has given me the most gentle kick in the butt to remind me of my write-up duties. So here goes from my slightly sleepy and blurred memory. We had a most interesting Korean feast entirely due to Kathy’s experience and generosity. The phenomenal non-Korean cake was one of the most amazing looking and tasting that I have had the pleasure of eating. I’m not sure why Carol bothers with her day job.... We had a lengthy discussion of Pachinko. I believe all of us read it, and all of us enjoyed it enough to give it a solid 3 (correction = 4). If decimals were allowed it would have rated higher than the 3 given to Miller’s Valley. We all enjoyed the multi-generational characters and the look into Korean and Japanese cultural mixing and history. Some of us felt there was not enough character development, that the story rambled and was another book in need of editing. Miller’s Valley got a less enthusiastic 3, but a 3 nonetheless. Some of us were never interested in the people or the story. Others felt it was well written and a realistic picture of a small town under siege by big bully corporations, while also a realistic portrait of a dysfunctional family in small town America.