"A spectacular debut filled with great characters and heart." --Lisa
See, author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
FINALIST FOR THE 2022 DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE - FINALIST FOR THE
BALCONES FICTION PRIZE - LONGLISTED FOR THE HWA DEBUT CROWN AWARD
An epic story of love, war, and redemption set against the backdrop of
the Korean independence movement, following the intertwined fates of a
young girl sold to a courtesan school and the penniless son of a
hunter
In 1917, deep in the snowy mountains of occupied Korea, an impoverished
local hunter on the brink of starvation saves a young Japanese officer
from an attacking tiger. In an instant, their fates are connected--and
from this encounter unfolds a saga that spans half a century.
In the aftermath, a young girl named Jade is sold by her family to Miss
Silver's courtesan school, an act of desperation that will cement her
place in the lowest social status. When she befriends an orphan boy
named JungHo, who scrapes together a living begging on the streets of
Seoul, they form a deep friendship. As they come of age, JungHo is swept
up in the revolutionary fight for independence, and Jade becomes a
sought-after performer with a new romantic prospect of noble birth. Soon
Jade must decide whether she will risk everything for the one who would
do the same for her.
From the perfumed chambers of a courtesan school in Pyongyang to the
glamorous cafes of a modernizing Seoul and the boreal forests of
Manchuria, where battles rage, Juhea Kim's unforgettable characters
forge their own destinies as they wager their nation's. Immersive and
elegant, Beasts of a Little Land unveils a world where friends become
enemies, enemies become saviors, heroes are persecuted, and beasts take
many shapes.
A Recommended Read from: USA Today - The Washington Post -
Entertainment Weekly - The Today Show - Real Simple - Good
Morning America - Harper's Bazaar - Buzzfeed - Fortune -
Vulture - Goodreads - Lit Hub - Book Riot - PopSugar - E!
Online - Ms. Magazine - Chicago Review of Books - Bustle - The
Oregonian - The Millions