The days are beginning to draw in. The sky is dark by seven in the evening. I lie on the floor and gaze out of the window. Women’s calves, men’s shoes, heels trodden down by the weight of bodies borne for too long.
It is summer in Tokyo. Claire finds herself dividing her time between tutoring twelve-year-old Meiko, in an partment in an abandoned hotel, and lying on the floor at her grandparents’: daydreaming, playing Tetris, and listening to the sounds from teh street above. The heat rises, the days slip by.
The plan is for Claire to visit Korea with her grandparents. They fled the vicil war there over fifty years ago, along witih thousands of others, and haven’t been back since. WHen they first arrived in Japan, they opened Shiny, a pachinko parlor. Shiny is still open, drawing people in with its bright, flashing lights and promises of good fortune. And as Meiko and LCaire gradually bond, a tender relationship growing, Miekos’ determination to visit the pachinko parlor builds.
The Panchinko Parlor is nuanced and behuiling exploration of identity and otherness, unspoken histories, and the loneliness you can feel among family. Crisp and enigmatic, Shua Dusapin’s writing glows with intelligence.
Paperback, good condition.
Published by Daunt Books Originals, 2022.
ISBN: 9781914198168