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A review by gusiakos
Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was one of my most anticipated releases in 2021, and I'm happy to say that it did not disappoint.
Beasts of a Little Land is an epic, gorgeous historical fiction story set in occupied Korea, between the years 1917 and 1965. It follows multiple characters that are in some way connected to Jade, who, when we first meet her, is a young girl sold to become a courtesan. Jade meets many people throughout her life, but there's one person whose life becomes permanently intertwined with Jade's - JungHo, an orphan boy who tries to make a living by begging on the streets of Seoul. Jade and JungHo's destinies are very different, but love and war forever bind them together.
When I first heard of this book, it immediately made me think of Min Jin Lee's Pachinko. Both books are set in Korea and span across many years, but while Pachinko is a more multi-generational saga, Beasts of a Little Land focuses more on a fixed cast of characters.
Altough Beasts of a Little Land is not the shortest of reads, I devoured it in a couple of days. What's more, I loved this book so much I genuenly wished that it was longer. I'm always on a lookout for a read that I can get completely immered in to the point of forgetting about things happening around me, and this one definitely belongs to this category. Reading about Korea under the Japanese occupation might not sound like everyone's cup of tea but it was truly an incredible experience because Kim wrote about it in a way that felt like watching a movie. The writing was poetic but easy to follow, and the scenes and plotlines Kim created were incredibly detailed, without feeling like a history lesson. The characters felt like real people (especially Jade) and I couldn't help but to get attached to them. I was rooting for almost everyone, despite their flaws and oftentimes questionable choices.
Overall, Beasts of a Little Land is a breathtaking book about how sometimes the collision of love and war can completely change someone's life and steer it into an unexpected path. I simply can't praise it enough, highly recommended!
Beasts of a Little Land is an epic, gorgeous historical fiction story set in occupied Korea, between the years 1917 and 1965. It follows multiple characters that are in some way connected to Jade, who, when we first meet her, is a young girl sold to become a courtesan. Jade meets many people throughout her life, but there's one person whose life becomes permanently intertwined with Jade's - JungHo, an orphan boy who tries to make a living by begging on the streets of Seoul. Jade and JungHo's destinies are very different, but love and war forever bind them together.
When I first heard of this book, it immediately made me think of Min Jin Lee's Pachinko. Both books are set in Korea and span across many years, but while Pachinko is a more multi-generational saga, Beasts of a Little Land focuses more on a fixed cast of characters.
Altough Beasts of a Little Land is not the shortest of reads, I devoured it in a couple of days. What's more, I loved this book so much I genuenly wished that it was longer. I'm always on a lookout for a read that I can get completely immered in to the point of forgetting about things happening around me, and this one definitely belongs to this category. Reading about Korea under the Japanese occupation might not sound like everyone's cup of tea but it was truly an incredible experience because Kim wrote about it in a way that felt like watching a movie. The writing was poetic but easy to follow, and the scenes and plotlines Kim created were incredibly detailed, without feeling like a history lesson. The characters felt like real people (especially Jade) and I couldn't help but to get attached to them. I was rooting for almost everyone, despite their flaws and oftentimes questionable choices.
Overall, Beasts of a Little Land is a breathtaking book about how sometimes the collision of love and war can completely change someone's life and steer it into an unexpected path. I simply can't praise it enough, highly recommended!