Author interview series: Pachinko novelist Min Jin Lee

Diane Rehm: On My Mind

WAMU 88.5

Artists And Thinkers Right Here As Diane Transitions This Podcast To Weekly Episodes That We’ll Be Calling “On My Mind.”, News, Writers, Fans Of The Diane Rehm Show Can Continue To Listen To Its Trademark Conversations With Newsmakers

4.7 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 29 June 2023

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For the next few weeks, On My Mind will be sharing conversations from the Diane Rehm Book Club and Author Interview series. First up is novelist Min Jin Lee.

Diane selected Lee’s novel “Pachinko” as this year’s January read. It tells a generation spanning story that begins in 1910 after Japan’s invasion of Korea.

As part of the book club event Diane first welcomed a panel of guests to discuss the novel – and the history that inspired it. You can find a recording of that here. Then she sat down with Min Jin Lee to hear about how a near fatal illness helped launch her writing career – and the decades of research that went into writing “Pachinko.”

Transcript

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0:00.0	I am on my mind books for the next few weeks I'll share conversations from my monthly
0:14.0	book club series, First Up, Mid-June Lee.
0:18.5	So I write my books because there are things I really believe I am arguing very hard for
0:24.5	a certain kind of moral universe.
0:27.8	I selected Lee's novel, Pachinko, as this year's January read, it tells a generation
0:35.9	spanning story that begins in 1910 after Japan's invasion of Korea.
0:43.7	I first welcomed a panel of guests to discuss the novel and the history that inspired it.
0:51.2	You can find a recording of that at DianeRain.org slash book club.
0:58.2	Then I sat down with Min Jin Lee on Zoom to hear about a near-fatal illness that helped
1:06.2	launch her writing career and the decades of research that went into writing Pachinko.
1:13.6	You'll hear an edited version of that conversation here.
1:20.1	Welcome to all of you to the latest conversation in my author interview series, Part of the
1:28.1	DianeRain book club.
1:30.3	Today I am so happy to welcome Min Jin Lee.
1:36.4	She's the author of two bestselling novels, 2007's Free Food for Millionaires and Pachinko.
1:47.5	A finalist for the 2017 National Book Award.
1:53.6	Both works tell stories of the Korean immigrant experience, one here in the US, the other
2:02.3	in Japan.
2:04.3	These explorations of identity, prejudice, and how we define home have cemented Lee's
2:13.2	status as one of the prominent chroniclers of the Korean diaspora experience and a strong
2:23.5	advocate in the broader Asian-American community.
2:28.6	Welcome, Min Jin Lee.
	...

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