This is a graphic biography of Vann Nath, a Cambodian painter. Nath used his art to fight against the tyranny of the Khmer Rouge. In 1978, the young painter was arrested by the Khmer Rouge, the violent and totalitarian Communist Party of Kampuchea that ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. Imprisoned in the infamous Tuol Sleng prison, better known as S-21, painting became synonymous with survival for him. Ordered, like many Cambodian artists and craftsmen, to put his talent to use to glorify his captors, upon his release he continued painting, this time, to remember and pay tribute to the victims of Pol Pot's regime. The only reason that he survived is because the man running the prison needed someone to paint of portrait of their supreme leader, Pol Pot. Nath became the most celebrated survivor of the prison. He died in 2011.
If you love history, you should read this book. 5 out of 5 stars.
In 1822, a secret family moves into a secret cabin some thirty miles northeast of Baltimore, to farm, to hide, and to bear ten children over the course of the next sixteen years. Junius Booth—breadwinner, celebrated Shakespearean actor, and master of the house in more ways than one—is at once a mesmerizing talent and a man of terrifying instability. One by one the children arrive, as year by year, the country draws frighteningly closer to the boiling point of secession and civil war.
As the tenor of the world shifts, the Booths emerge from their hidden lives to cement their place as one of the country’s leading theatrical families. But behind the curtains of the many stages they have graced, multiple scandals, family triumphs, and criminal disasters begin to take their toll, and the solemn siblings of John Wilkes Booth are left to reckon with the truth behind the destructively specious promise of an early prophecy.
Booth is a startling portrait of a country in the throes of change and a vivid exploration of the ties that make, and break, a family.
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This isn't the usual type of book that I read but I am still looking forward to reading it.
An unprecedented, potentially nation-ending threat has materialized on the world stage. Fearful of the global consequences of engaging this enemy, administration after administration has passed the buck. The clock, however, has run out and doing nothing is no longer an option. It is time to unleash Scot Harvath.
As America’s top spy, Harvath has the unparalleled skills and experience necessary to handle any situation, but this assignment feels different.
Thrust into a completely unfamiliar culture, with few he can trust, the danger begins mounting the moment he arrives. Amidst multiple competing forces and a host of deadly agendas, it becomes nearly impossible to tell predator from prey.
With democracy itself hanging in the balance, Harvath will risk everything to untangle the explosive plot and bring every bad actor to justice.
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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.
