Beasts of a Little Land: A Novel

Written by Juhea Kim

Narrated by Sue Jean Kim and Raymond Lee

Beasts of a Little Land has descriptive copy which is not yet available from the Publisher.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Dec 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9780063093607

Juhea Kim

Juhea Kim is the author of the novel Beasts of a Little Land, which was a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and the winner of the Yasnaya Polyana Literary Award, Russia’s largest annual award in literature. It has been translated around the world and is being adapted for television. She is also the author of City of Night Birds, which was a Reese’s Book Club pick. A graduate of Princeton University, her writing has been published in Granta, the Times Literary Supplement, the Independent, Zyzzyva, Guernica<, and other outlets. She is an advocate for wildlife conservation, animal rights, and education and aid in Africa. Born in Korea and raised in Portland, Oregon, Kim now lives in London.

Reviews for Beasts of a Little Land

[Lucia Garcia · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A heart wrenching story. My heart broke so many times! For Jade, for Korea, for the various characters, for humanity, and the atrocities we inflict upon each other.
I found myself googling some events, people, and other things mentioned in the story, and it has helped me understand a bit better this passage of history and culture.
It touches in romantic love, familial, and most of all, on friendships of various types. The responsibility of duty and loyalty is also a big topic that can be a protagonist, but also the underlying base upon all their lives are based.

[Stacie F. Dubnow · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Far too long, confusing, and often boring. Liked a few of the characters.

[TaT · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Totally enjoyed this. Historical fiction at its finest!

Reminded me of Tears of Amber by Sofia Segovia and the epilogue of The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See.

[Blessing John · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.75?. It was an okay listen. I think the narrator did a good job.

[Ian Schwartz · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's more of a soap opera with just enough references to it's locale to call it historical fiction.

[Sir Bobin Piler · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful novel, full of life and love! Unique window to a rarely seen world, one worth coming back to time to time!

[viviennestrauss · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Who could resist this cover? Historical fiction is not a usual genre for me but this one really drew me in from the first page. Also a great education for the history between Korea/Japan/Russia/and the US.

[ellenh_28 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book has been called epic, but I had to convince myself to finish it. The story of Korea is interesting, it goes from 1917-1965 so that's a huge change in the lives of Koreans. But I thought the characters were somewhat shallow at times, but also realistic in their attitudes at times. It captures the cruelty in the Japanese toward the Koreans, and the struggle to have their own country.

[hccpsk · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A real historical saga, Beasts of a Little Land by debut author Juhea Kim follows a group of connected characters in Korea from 1917 to 1965. At the center of the novel is Jade, whose peasant mother sells her to the local courtesan where she meets sisters Lotus and Luna, and street urchin, JungHo with whom she would have a lifelong connection. Kim explores all the destruction and poverty in Korea through the war and occupation, but also the ties of friendship, family, and love. Beasts of a Little Land is an excellent debut novel with memorable characters and a believable story for readers of literary and historical fiction.

[brangwinn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Filled with characters who will remain in your heart long after you’ve finished the book, Kim has created a story of Korean suffering under Japanese occupation before World War II. In writing the book, the author has made a complex Korean history understandable. While mainly following Jade, who was sold into a life of a courtesan, it also weaves in the story of a hunter’s family, who saved a Japanese general from being killed by a tiger. The reader will finish the story with satisfaction at the tenacity of the Korean people and society to survive.

[bookwyrmm_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

With a story that takes place overtime, there are often many characters who are somewhat difficult to keep straight, as happens here, but what made it a little more difficult were some of the creative choices the author made that I could not follow as I could not see the reason, which may be because I was listening to the audiobook.

[novelcommentary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Like Pachinko, Juhea Kim uses multiple characters to provide a personal story that depicts the Japanese occupation of Korea from 1917-1945. The main characters include Jade, who is given over to her aunt to become a courtesan, hoping that her education in the arts of intelligent conversation, music, literature and the like will not only provide a way to exist but hopefully win her a rich man who will take care of her. "She had a matte, smooth skin with a candle-wax yellow tinge. Her eyes were small but very bright under a pair of fluffy eyebrows like black feathers. By looking very closely, one could see that her left iris was positioned ever so slightly off-center, pointing outward—a fishlike tendency. Her lips were round and red, even without rouge. Her smile—twinkly, with an undertone of mischief—would have been considered charming had it not framed a few undeniably crooked upper teeth".
She becomes best friends with Lotus,( "Jade came to appreciate Lotus’s gift of gab, the way she could make anything sound like shooting stars—unexpected and marvelous phenomena of which they were the only two witnesses".) and her sister Luna, and we follow all of their stories for most of their lives. The boy who falls in love with Jade, Jungho, is the leader of a gang of homeless boys who beg, extort or steal to make enough to survive. Jungho carries with him the cigarette case and ring left to him by his father, the famous hunter whose prologue not only begins the story, but reverberates throughout. Kim also includes aJapanese officer and a communist revolutionary so that various storylines can help to paint the overall picture. I enjoyed the journey created not only for the insight into history of this troubled land, but also for the well constructed plot and memorable characters that make for an enjoyable read. Look forward to her future work.

Lines
When night fell and they were left alone in their marital chamber, he carefully removed the many silk layers of her princess outfit, which had been worn by every bride in their village for generations....I wish we could be like this forever, she’d whispered. But I’m also so happy that I wouldn’t have any regrets if I died right now.

Years of similar experiences had left him well conscious of the coldness that enters into amicable relationships when money becomes involved.

SungSoo was a man best suited to living—no one could do it better than he. MyungBo was only good at making life harder for himself, but he could see no other alternative.

Harding was then busy dividing Asia and the Pacific with the Japanese: the United States would colonize the Philippines, and in return let Japan take Mongolia from China and Siberia from Russia.

When JungHo listened to these tales, he felt a strange yearning and pain. It was a pain that originated outside of him and seeped through his skin, like the pale blue moonlight, the howling of wolves, and the sound of snow crunching under his feet.

THE NATURE OF ALL WEDDINGS is to throw their guests’ relationships into sharp relief against the idyllic happiness of the bride and groom. A wedding ties two people together in love; but how many more people argue, despair, and swear off one another in its wake?

To her, failure was like stockings with holes: it could happen to anyone, but if you allowed it to show in public then you were to blame.

The meaning of old age was that all the bliss in one’s life must now be found looking backward, not forward. But he had played his part, he’d lived for something greater than himself.

Life is only bearable because time makes you forget everything. But life is worthwhile because love makes you remember everything.

[bookmuse56 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Rich, and colorful, and glorious!

I love a sprawling historical fiction which dazzles and stuns me with a well-honed cast of characters, each ambitious in their own way and where fate and destiny intertwined them in each other’s lives in a tumultuous time and place.

Kim’s artfully constructed debut novel hit all of the right criteria for me and I was engaged and engrossed throughout this story.

Set in Korea from 1917 to 1965, turbulent times to say the least, and as the characters see their ambitions and fortunes rise in fall in all the tangled web of secrets their private and professional lives against the background of the Korean Independence Movement.

[catrn_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There is Korean word ,inyeon, that refers to the lifelong interconnection with the people we meet during our lives. Furthermore it means predestination, that it is our destiny to meet them. It is the inyeon between JungHo and Jade along with others they meet along the way that is explored. But don’t worry this is not an in-depth psychological exploration. We watch their lives unfold against the backdrop of the brutal Japanese occupation of Korea.,the Korean independence movement and WWII.
I knew very little of Korea’s history prior to WWII. I was surprised to learn that Korea was annexed by Japan in 1910! I knew a little about the occupation during WWII but did not realize it had gone on so long. This book is rich in the history of this time. The history is well intertwined with the storyline so as not to feel force fed or like reading a dry history book. We become spectators to the events. If you enjoy learning a little history while enjoying a great storyline this book is for you!

I received an ARC of the book from the publisher, HarperCollins through net galley. This fact in no way influenced my review.