Unpopular opinion: I finally get why people defend slow-burn novels

Used to hate books that take forever to get anywhere. Last month my book club picked 'Pachinko' by Min Jin Lee. I almost skipped the meeting. But my friend Sarah said to give it 100 pages. I hit page 150 and something clicked. The way the characters just live their lives without dramatic twists felt more real. Now I'm reading 'The Overstory' and actually enjoying it. Anyone else have a book that flipped your taste around like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_nina7d ago

Yeah, 'Pachinko' did that same thing for me too.

nancy5247d agoMost Upvoted

My friend literally fell asleep reading that book three times lol

margareth487d ago

Wait, you actually enjoyed Pachinko though? I mean @the_nina, I get that people love it but I had the opposite experience, I nearly threw the book across the room by page 200 because nothing was happening. It felt like reading a long list of everyday chores and conversations that didn't build to anything satisfying, and The Overstory is even worse with all those tree descriptions that go on for chapters. Slow books just make me feel like I'm wasting time waiting for a payoff that never comes.