How to Make Use of Incidental Characters
Today’s Mad Skill comes to you by way of Jin Min Lee ’s historical epic, Pachinko. Her novel follows the fate of four generations of a family from 1910–1989, first in Japan-occupied Korea, and then as immigrants in Japan.
Perhaps, like me, you’ve had this in your to-be-read pile since its 2017 release, but you were put off by its weighty topic and more than 500 pages.
To that, all I can say is: it’s amazing how much time you can find to read when a book simply won’t release you from its clutches. The undercurrent of this novel, driven by poverty, cultural disadvantage, illness, illicit love, manipulation, prejudice and more, made it both a page-turner and a master class in how to renew tension.
https://writerunboxed.com/2026/02/12/how-to-make-use-of-incidental-characters/
