Set against the backdrop of Korea’s fight for independence and spanning five decades of the 20th century, Juhea Kim’s Beasts of a Little Land tells an absorbing story. Most of the characters in the story are Korean peasants or working-class people, and most of them must figure out how to get basic necessities under the oppressive rule of the Japanese. We follow two main characters, Jade and JungHo, along with a large cast of supporting characters, as all try to make of their lives something more than just the attempt to survive. Their successes and failures at advancing their dreams, their choices and the resulting consequences, their acts of selfishness and of self-sacrifice comprise the plot of the novel, which kept me reading in pleasurable suspense till I reached the end of the story. I found many of the author’s descriptions of natural and urban surroundings vivid and at times quite lovely. And her themes of loyalty, friendship, love, disillusionment, and loss will provide me much food for thought in the coming days.

I did, however, have one issue with the book, an issue that for me constitutes a major flaw. The writing itself is marred by diction that is imprecise or unidiomatic; and by the occasional jarring presence (in this historical novel) of 21st century American colloquialisms. While much of the descriptive writing is beautiful, much also is overwritten, with too many adjectives, metaphors, and images piled on, detracting from the desired effect.

That being said, I would emphasize that I enjoyed this novel and would like to read more of this author’s work.