Fiction Beasts of a Little Land

Juhea Kim: Oneworld, $30

Kim’s debut novel is perfect summer reading. Set in Korea, it opens in the bleak winter of 1917 and ends in the 1960s. It follows the story of Jade, a girl who, aged 10, is sold to be trained as a courtesan. She meets Lotus and Luna and the trio is sent to Seoul to complete training under the celebrated courtesan Dani. Alongside this story is that of Nam Jungho, a boy who becomes leader of a band of beggars, and eventually a senior member of the Communist party. Jade and Jungho experience a Korea torn apart by the Japanese occupation, a communist insurrection, and a World War. Richly imagined, this powerful novel explores a turbulent history.

LAURA KROETSCH