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Winner of the Yasnaya Polyana Award * Finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize
'Unforgettable' Nguy n Phan Qu Mai, author of The Mountains Sing
As the Korean independence movement gathers pace, two children meet on the streets of Seoul. Fate will bind them through decades of love and war. They just don't know it yet.
It is 1917, and Korea is under Japanese occupation. With the threat of famine looming, ten-year-old Jade is sold by her desperate family to Miss Silver's courtesan school in the bustling city of Pyongyang. As the Japanese army tears through the country, she is forced to flee to the southern city of Seoul. Soon, her path crosses with that of an orphan named JungHo, a chance encounter that will lead to a life-changing friendship.
But when JungHo is pulled into the revolutionary fight for independence, Jade must decide between following her own ambitions and risking everything for the one she loves.
Sweeping through five decades of Korean history, Juhea Kim's sparkling debut is an intricately woven tale of love stretched to breaking point, and two people who refuse to let go.
Longlisted for the HWA Debut Crown Longlist 2022 * Longlisted for the Nota Bene Prize 2023
'A stunning achievement' TLS
About the author
Juhea Kim is the author of the international bestseller Beasts of a Little Land (Oneworld, 2021), which has been published around the world. It won the Yasnaya Polyana Award and was a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and is currently being adapted into a television series. Kim’s second novel, City of Night Birds, will be published in January 2025. Kim earned her BA in Art and Archaeology from Princeton University. Her writing has been published in Granta, Times Literary Supplement, The Independent, Zyzzyva, Guernica and elsewhere. Born in South Korea and raised in Portland, Oregon, Kim now lives in London.
Summary
As the Korean independence movement gathers pace, two children meet on the streets of Seoul. Fate will bind them through decades of love and war. They just don’t know it yet.
Report
'Beasts of a Little Land is a stunning achievement. Juhea Kim wrestles with the chaos of a half-century of love, idealism, war and violence, and does so with courage and wisdom.' TLS
