Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim is a book about the relationship between a character and the country's history. In this novel, Juhea Kim details the lives of two main characters Jade and Jungho who become interconnected within a city as their lives overlap. Additionally, the historical background behind the setting of 20th century Korea is one of suffering and turmoil. Overall, I thought the heavy components of the story were dealt well within the characters' lives and actions.
The main characters Jade and Jungho both begin new lives in Seoul in separate lives during the Japanese occupation in 1918. Jade is trained to become a courtesan while Jungho is the leader of a gang of beggar boys. Yet, their lives soon intertwine as they become friends, and soon a relationship of deeper understanding.
I could understand why Beasts of a Little Land was compared to Min Jin Lee's Pachinko. They are set in similar time periods when the identity of being a Korean was lost in the Japanese occupation and the Korean War. There were also several key characters that all represented the different generations and influences of cultures and time periods. Yet, Beasts of a Little Land feels more focused on the revolution that occurs within Korea in order to gain independence while Pachinko felt more of a story where the minority were forced to live underneath these great changes in power and try to survive. I did enjoy Beasts of a Little Land because it was able to portray the fundamental struggle for a better life that these figures had and I hope there are more portrayals in the media of this time period revealing similar struggles.
Still, some parts that were hard for me to contend with were the over-amount of threads that were in the story. I would have preferred it if there were less objects or symbols that occurred throughout the book (the cigarette case, the elephant, the ring) as they did seem to overcomplicate many of the important moments in the story and seemed to decrease the value of some moments. Additionally, instead of focusing on the different romantic relationships, I would have enjoyed the book more if there was an emphasis on 인연 (inyeon), or fate, in Jungho and Jade's relationship. Although Juhea does touch upon this in the last few parts of the book, I wish there was a greater emphasis on how their destinies were intertwined from the more beginning of the book. Lastly, I would have liked a more consistent voice as some descriptions fell flat while others were very descriptive and poetic. If the poetic verse could have been more consistent, I believe I would have enjoyed the book more.
Overall, I would give Beasts of a Little Land a 3.5 stars. I would recommend it to people who enjoy historical fiction and complex human relationships. For those who are interested in this time period, I would recommend them to watch the kdrama Mr. Sunshine, as it depicts the Japanese occupation of Korea well.
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