What readers think of Beasts of a Little Land, plus links to write your own review.

Beasts of a Little Land traces fifty years of Korean history, from the Russo-Japanese war, through World War II and after. Action takes place from the poverty-stricken border with Manchuria to the bustling city of Seoul, from resistance movements against Japanese to growth of the Communist party to post-war creation of two Koreas at the 38th parallel. It begins with a poacher nearly dead in the mountains of the North and ends with the extinction of the Siberian tiger, who died in a Seoul zoo. Th characters range from wealthy courtesans to Japanese military to self-made businessmen as they pass through life as through an hourglass. Historical fiction is a favorite genre, and this novel by Juhea Kim is a successful introduction into Korean history of the 20th century.

Knowing so very little of the history of Korea this was an extremely difficult book to really immerse myself into as so many gaps, for me, existed. It's a historical saga that extends from 1917 to 1965 and portrays many unforgettable characters. Mostly they revolve around a girl named Jade. She is the one individual that ties it all together first as a child sold to be a courtesan in training, then as a well known courtesan and a famous actress. She meets many Koreans and a few Japanese and her sweet innocence and initial goodness charms them all. Some fall in love with Jade but most remain friends with her although wars and/or political upheavals toss the country about from starvation to epicurean fare. I was impressed with the author's intimate knowledge of the history of Korea and I sensed her strong love for her country. Some beatifically lyrical sentences had me reading them more than once. I found the book an interesting, well plotted, sensitively written, thoroughly satisfying read.

This is an intriguing historical fiction book about Korea from 1917 to 1965. The historical background added a setting and a lot of interest, but the strength of the story is its characters and their relationships over time.

As a parent of a Korean adopted daughter, I have been interested in this country and its culture. I'm glad this title was offered through BookBrowse. I think with its strong and resilient women, it would appeal to book clubs and anyone interested in Korean life in this time period.

The beginning of this novel was somewhat misleading and I was not sure I wanted to continue. To my total and pleasant surprise, it was a very enjoyable read. It presented a very clear picture of early 1900 Japanese occupied Korea in the time of courtesans. The people were very poor and struggled to exist. The story moved along quickly and the characters were well defined and not all likable, which made it more interesting. I was able to visualize a good part of the book. I will definitely read more of this author.

The story takes place in Korea and starts in the mountains in 1917. We move to Pyongyang, currently the capital of North Korea. In that year, North and South Korea were not separated. A train ran between Pyongyang and Seoul.

I love historical fiction because references within encourage me to do research and I learn much. This book is a prime example of one that makes me want to look deeper. The characters seem real and are well described.

I loved what I learned and following the stories of
Jade - a courtesan in training
Silver - her original teacher
Luna - Silver's love child
Jung-Ho - an orphan living in Seoul

Very good and compelling historical fiction.

There are two types of readers: Those who finish a book—no matter what—just because they started it and those who give a book a few pages—10, 20, 50—and then give up if it's not that good. If you fall into the latter category, be cautious reading this novel by Juhea Kim. It's very slow-going until about one-third of the way through. That's about 135 pages for something that can feel like a slog at times. But then, almost like magic, the story picks up. While I wouldn't describe this book as "riveting," it is still very good.

This is a love story, mostly about the heartbreak of unrequited love. This is a story about the cruelty and vagaries of the most basic kind of human survival. This is a story about family bonds and tests of loyalty. This is a story about patriotism and honor. But most of all, this is the story of the Korean independence movement after decades of suffering under Japanese rule. Throughout the book, author Juhea Kim cleverly weaves into the story abundant symbols of the tiger—for courage, ferocity, strength, and ambition.

Taking place from 1917 to 1965, the four main characters around which the story revolves are:
• Jade Anh and Miss Lotus, who are little girls when they first meet in Pyongyang at a school for training courtesans. Lotus was born into it, while Jade's mother sold her into it and then told her to never return to her family because she would forever be a disgrace to them.
• Nam JungHo, an orphan who migrates to Seoul with two pennies in his pocket and two mementos given to him by his dying father: a silver ring and a silver cigarette case. He survives by joining a gang.
• Kim HanChol, a desperately poor rickshaw driver who is trying to better himself against almost insurmountable odds.

This is a profound and haunting novel that is exquisitely written and cleverly uses the seemingly unimportant lives of the characters to tell the bigger story of history and politics. Just know that when you start this novel, it will probably take a while to really get into it.

After completing this novel, I had difficulty falling asleep that night, my mind wrestling with questions about the issues that determined the fate of each character. How much is preordained by the wartime setting and specifically, the occupation of Korea by Japan in the first decades of the 20th century? To what degree did the characters thrive or suffer based on factors related to their gender, family and social circumstances, or the peculiarities of their individual personalities and life philosophies? I think this novel will appeal to readers who love to learn about history during periods of great social upheaval, but even more to those who want to contemplate the events and choices that determine our fate.
I highly enjoyed the book and will continue to think about it for a long time.

4.5 stars. When I finished reading Juhea Kim's debut novel Beasts of a Little Land, the first thought that came into my head was that this did not read like a debut at all. From the story structure to the development of the characters, to the historical details as well as the various themes and motifs incorporated into the narrative, the writing flowed so well and so seamlessly that I was completely immersed in this epic story from beginning to end.

The story spans a time period from 1917 to 1965 — a half century that bears witness to Korea's evolution over the years, as a Japanese-occupied territory up through World War II, and later divided into the North and South Korea that we are more familiar with in modern times. Against this backdrop, we are introduced to two characters whose fates become inexplicably intertwined — JungHo, an orphan who roams the streets as a beggar, later becoming a revolutionary fighter for Korea's independence, and Jade, a peasant girl sold by her family to a courtesan school who later becomes one of the most sought after actresses in Korea. As Jade and JungHo come of age amongst the changing landscape of their country, they experience moments both glorious and harrowing, but all have a profound impact on them in some way. This is a story where all the supporting characters play vital roles in the narrative, but not only that, all of the characters – whether good or bad, endearing or despiscable – are all equally unforgettable. One of the things I love most about this story is the complexity of the characters and the mixed feelings that evoked – for example, with the Japanese generals Ito and Yamada, they are supposed to be the enemy and majority of their actions are indeed abhorrent, but then, at certain points, they reveal their humanity through certain acts of kindness or a redeeming factor that made it hard to despise them completely. By the same token, there were also moments where I found it hard to root for some of the "good" characters, even with the understanding that some of the morally questionable actions they take are out of a need for survival. I also found it interesting the way nearly all the characters that appear in the story are connected in some way, whether directly or indirectly, that is apparent to the reader, but not necessarily to the characters themselves. This aspect, coupled with the atmospheric nature of the historical setting and time period, made for a truly immersive reading experience.

With all that said, my one complaint would probably be that, given the epic nature of the story, I was expecting more emotional depth, which I felt was a bit lacking in this instance (hence the reason why I rated this 4.5 stars instead of 5). Nevertheless, this was absolutely a worthwhile read, especially for historical fiction fans. In addition to learning a lot about Korea that I didn't know before, I also appreciated the time period being one that isn't commonly covered in many historical fiction works. I definitely recommend this book and at the same time, look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Received ARC from Ecco via NetGalley and BookBrowse First Impressions program.