Beasts of a Little Land

Beasts of a Little Land begins in Korea in the early 20th century. During this time Korea was one nation. While there are a dozen characters, the story alternates between the lives of four main characters whose lives intersect. There is Luna, Lotus, Jade, and JungHo. Luna is the daughter of the famous courtesan Dani whose beauty she inherited. Lotus is her younger and plainer sister. Jade was not as pretty as Luna and Lotus but when her mother sends her to Dani's household for courtesan training, she becomes Lotus' best friend. JungHo is an orphan who had to beg to survive. The book was published in December 2021.

The publisher's summary:  

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.

I enjoyed the Korean setting. There aren't too many historical fiction novels that take place there and the ones I am aware of all tell the WWII story of haenyoes (sea women) on Jeju Island. Beasts covers a period of time from 1917 through 1964, during which the nation was fighting for independence from Japan and separated into north and south. The author has left out the years of the Korean War from her story.

Many of the female characters are courtesans. Being a courtesan was quite different from being a prostitute. The only women in Korea who were intellectuals and artists were courtesans. This dates back to medieval times. The courtesans had several years of formal training, beginning with reading, music and dance. While they were on the lowest rung of the social ladder, they made alot of money that they could send home to their families. Note, though, that the novel does not have sex scenes.

Some of the remaining characters include the revolutionary MyungBo, aristocratic SungSoo, and upwardly mobile HanChol. MyungBo was born into a wealthy family but during college he abandoned that lifestyle in order to work toward Korea becoming a socialist country. Sungsoo was also born into wealth but after college he decided to continue his family's business legacy. HanChol started out as a rickshaw driver but advanced into being a mechanic and ultimately an auto builder. Two Japanese officers round out this amazing cast of characters.

The characters and the history are what make this novel a masterpiece. I cannot recommend it more highly.  5 out of 5 stars.