The Reader and the Writer

In this bonus episode of Pachinko, Shari and Rhea share their thoughts—in broad and generous strokes—on Apple TV’s film adaption of Pachinko. In order to not give spoilers, they spend most their time talking about screen adaptations in general, focusing on how trying to compare books to their movie (or TV show) counterparts is really futile, if your purpose is to judge whether one is better than the other. It is, as the cliche goes: like comparing apples to oranges. Both are a medium of storytelling… but that’s about it.

Articles referenced in this episode:

* Books vs. Movies: Which is Better? (And Why Do We Care?) - From:Dabblewriter.com

* On Criticizing an Author’s Vision - Substack essay by Shari

R&W’s next deep read is The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson. You will find the reading schedule below:

Here is an excellent post by Rhea with loads of resources to get you ready for this epic, ancient read:

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Welcome back to this final episode of R&W’s deep read of Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee. In this episode, Shari and Rhea discuss the way Lee brought her multigenerational tale to a beautiful close. They discuss motherhood, the grace of hearing hard truths, grace in death, grace in forgiveness, grace in suffering, grace in everything. They discuss the way Lee reveals everything in the end through a redemptive lens that is filled with hope for both today and for eternity. They talk about endings, the story’s climax, meaning and its final word. They continue to lament Noa. But they find a greater grace for him, too.

Our next episode will be a Pachinko bonus episode. It will air April 1st.

R&W’s next deep read is Homer’s The Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson. The reading schedule is:

* April 8: Books 1-6 (pp 105-207)

* April 15: Books 7-12 (pp 208-315)

* April 22: Books 13-18 (pp 316-423)

* April 29: Books 19-24 (pp. 424-525)

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Welcome back to R&W’s deep read of Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee. In this episode, Shari and Rhea spend most of their discussion lamenting Noa. Oh, Noa. Noa!! How could you! The pain. The agony. The heartache.

But there is more to cover. They discuss Mozasu’s life, Solomon’s growing up as a Korean-Japanese, Hansu’s cracking demeanor, Haruki’s strange chapters, and everyone’s deep suffering. They discuss major themes they see continuing to develop, especially: home, fate, suffering, and—a new one—curses. They also discuss the interrelatedness of all these things and how they shape identity, our sense of home, our sense of belonging, our sense of agency in determining all these things.

Our last discussion of Pachinko will air March 25th.

We will be doing a Pachinko bonus episode on April 1st, in which we react to the Pachinko TV series, airing on Apple TV, as well as other articles/podcast episodes we’ve digested during our month of reading.

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Welcome back for Part Three of Pachinko. In this episode, Rhea and Shari connect some of their stand out quotes with major themes they see developing through the novel: suffering, love, fate, and home. They go back to the quote from Book II and continue to discuss how they see the quote being brought forth through the tensions between characters and their relationships with one another and their place. They discuss the characters and how they are developing through this part of the novel. And, they talk about how this novel is “teaching us to read it.” (A quote from an excellent article by Substacker, Henry Oliver).

Next week we will continue our deep read of Pachinko: pp. 299-396

Link to Henry Oliver’s essay: How to Read the Opening of a Novel

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Welcome to this second episode of War and Peace, R&W’s year long read. In this episode, Shari and Rhea talk and wonder about a whole host of topics. They talk about the scenes that stand out to them: Vasili’s cunning and manipulating, Old Bolkonsky’s gruff love, Nikolai’s obsession with the emperor, and Andrei’s Toulon. They do a deep dive in all study of contrasts Tolstoy is developing: Andrei - Nikolai; Vasili Kuragin - Old Bolkonsky (fathers); Pierre’s match to Hélène - Marya’s (un)match to Anatole; Scön Grabern - Austerlitz; and others. They discuss the continued development of characters, the fact that so far no Kuragin is a good Kuragin, and how the total omniscient narrator allows us to know more about the characters than they know about themselves. They discuss the ways they see War and Peace in conversation with other books they’ve been reading: namely The Screwtape Letters, and Pachinko. And there’s more!

Our next episode will air April 4. We’ll be discussing March’s readings:

Book 1 | Part 3: Chapters 14 - 19 thru Book 2 | Part 2: Chapters 1 - 8

Some Links:

* For Rhea’s nifty bookmarks with each month’s reading: Rhea’s Substack

* For note-taking suggestions as you read War and Peace: Shari’s essay On Notetaking

* On Austerlitz and a creative look on the art of narration: A War & Peace Post

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Welcome back to the R&W deep read of Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee. In this episode, Shari and Rhea discuss how the story is developing, and how their view of the characters is developing, too. They continue their ongoing discussion of how the opening quotes (the one by Dickens in Book I, and Park Wan-suh in Book II) are being enfleshed through the story telling for each section of the story. They discuss the “cinematic” feel of the story at times. They talk about what it means to “conjure” home. They discuss the heartbreak they felt reading this section, the foreboding, and also the hope they each have for certain characters moving forward.

Next week (March 11th) they will be discussing pp. 202-298.

Have a favorite scene or burning question as you’ve been reading Pachinko? Leave a comment below! We’d love to have a conversation with you, and even discuss it on a future episode of the podcast.

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In this episode, Shari and Rhea dive into their new book, Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee. They give some background on author, Min Jin Lee, and her motivations for writing Pachinko. They discuss the Korean Japanese conflict that is the backdrop for this generational Korean family drama. They discuss the significance of “beginnings” in this novel, as well as its almost-omniscient narrative style. They discuss characters and the variety of motives the characters are operating from: everything from personal honor to cultural standing, lust to Christian love.

Links to websites, documentaries, and articles mentioned in this show:

* Felix Doolittle stationary website

* Min Jin Lee website

* Documentary on Pachinko and Min Jin Lee

* Article on Japanese annexation of Korea

* Women’s Roles in Contemporary Korea

* Value and Meaning of the Korean Family

You can find our full reading schedule for Pachinko here.

Next week we’ll be discussing pp. 95 - 201

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Welcome to this last episode on Crossing the Mangrove. In this episode, Shari and Rhea discuss their thoughts on the ending: what surprised them, what annoyed them, whose narrative they were ultimately drawn toward, and what they think the story is really about. They talk about Xantippe’s character being an archtype of the first Adam, the role of “the Good” as Plato expresses it in The Republic and how the Good it is expressed throughout this CTM narrative. They spend much time talking about the women of this story, especially the two women at its heart: Vilma and Mira, and what their individual narratives suggest for them moving forward. They talk about prophets, and suffering, truth and love, and much, much more.

This episode was great fun to record; a fitting way to close the book on Crossing the Mangrove.

The next book for The Reader & the Writer will be Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee. Shari and Rhea will take five weeks to read this epic novel telling the story of a poor, Korean immigrant family four generations strong. You can find out more about the story itself and the R&W reading plan here:

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Welcome to Crossing the Mangrove, episode 2. In this episode, Shari and Rhea dig deeper into narration and what they think Condé’s primary concern is based on the narrative style of the story. They discuss what more they’ve learned about Francis Sancher, the characters, and the community of Rivere au Sel. They spend a long time talking about truth: small “t” truth v. “T” truth and how they see this playing out in the story. They talk about whose narrative they trust, whose they don't. And, they discuss Crossing the Mangrove’s unique narrative arc.

Thanks for listening to this episode of The Reader & the Writer. And mostly, for being part of this R&W community. :)

Thanks for listening to The Reader & the Writer! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and podcast episodes straight to your inbox.

Welcome to this first episode of The Reader & the Writer’s year long read: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. In this introductory episode, Shari and Rhea do a brief background of Tolstoy as it relates to his writing of W&P, talk narrative strategy with Tolstoy’s omniscient narrator—who likes to pop out from behind the curtain sometimes in the chapters from Part Two—as well as the theatrical style of the scenes and narration. They discuss the characters—oh the characters! And the families!! They talk about who they love and who they don’t, who they think will rise to prominence in the story and who seems to have faded into the background already. They discuss the significance of the novel opening in French and all the French filtered throughout the story—who speaks it, when it gets spoken the most, and why. They spend time with character motives, and do an overview of the major events of the story so far—which ones they think are especially important for moving the narrative forward, as well as helping us understand what this story is about… which…what isn’t it about?! They also spend some time sharing ways they see War and Peace in conversation with other novels they’ve read on R&W.

The podcast plan for the R&W War and Peace episodes is to drop an episode on the 1st Friday of every month. That episode’s contents will be on the reading for the prior month’s reading.

Please chat with Shari and Rhea on Substack! Send them your thoughts and/or questions in the comments section below, or through the chat function, to either The Reader & the Writer Substack or to Rhea Forney.

Thank you so much for listening and being a part of the Reader & the Writer community!

Thanks for listening to this episode of The Reader & the Writer! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and podcast episodes straight to your inbox.