26/10/2025
Our next Beyond Borders Book Club date is in the bag… Tuesday 18th November (from around 7pm…) at the inimitable in Derbados!!
So far we’ve visited Europe (Perfection) and Mexico (Last Date in El Zapotal)… we decided at the last session to book a ticket to Asia!
So… our next book is ‘The Pachinko Parlour’ by Elisa Shua Dusapin (trans. Aneesa Abbas Higgins), published by one of my faves 🇯🇵
Come along - we’re a super friendly bunch!!
Here’s the premise:
“It is summer in Tokyo. Claire finds herself dividing her time between tutoring ten-year-old Mieko, in an apartment in an abandoned hotel, and lying on the floor at her grandparents: daydreaming, playing Tetris and listening to the sounds from the street above. The heat rises; the days slip by.
The plan is for Claire to visit Korea with her grandparents. They fled the civil war there over fifty years ago, along with thousands of others, and haven’t been back since. When they first arrived in Japan, they opened Shiny, a pachinko parlour. Shiny is still open, drawing people in with its bright, flashing lights and promises of good fortune. And as Mieko and Claire gradually bond, a tender relationship growing, Mieko’s determination to visit the pachinko parlour builds.
The Pachinko Parlour is a nuanced and beguiling exploration of identity and otherness, unspoken histories, and the loneliness you can feel amongst family. Crisp and enigmatic, Shua Dusapin’s writing glows with intelligence.”
