Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (2017): The okay, the bad and the ugly

Okay, so this book doesn’t qualify as a “Great Book” to me but it was shortlisted for the National Book Award in 2017. Other people have lauded this book to the skies for its theme of generations of discrimination against Japanese-born Koreans, but for me, this book was really just about sex.
 
The very first sex scene, I grant, was necessary to the plot. I can’t say the same for any of the others. Is this book really so great or is it just titillating to readers?

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