Monday Evening with Friends Book Club: "Beasts of a Little Land"
Reading and discussing a range of classic and current fiction and non-fiction current literary and historical fiction
We meet the 4th Monday of the month at 6:30p.m. (Except May and December when we meet the third Monday). This is a volunteer-led book club. New members are welcome.
We are reading:
- Jan. 27: "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- Feb. 24: "The Personal Librarian" by Marie Benedict
- Mar. 24: "North Woods" by Daniel Mason
- Apr. 28: "Beasts of a Little Land" by Juhea Kim
- May 19: "Twilight of Democracy" by Anne Applebaum
- June 23: "James: a novel" by Percival Everett
- July 28: "Fingersmith" by Sarah Waters
- Aug. 25: "The Wager: a tale of shipwreck, mutiny, and murder" by David Grann
- Sept. 22: "House of Mirth" by Edith Wharton
- Oct. 27: "The Women" by Kristin Hannah
- Nov. 24: "Absolution" by Alice McDermott
- Dec.15: "Little Boys Come from the Stars" by Emmanuel Boundzeki Dongala
REGISTRATION RECOMMENDED. By registering, you will receive event updates.
For more information, contact Lib-CentralOperations@arlingtonva.us.
- Date:
- Monday, April 28, 2025
- Time:
- 6:30pm - 7:30pm
- Location:
- Glebe Room
- Library:
- Central Library
- Audience:
- Events for Adults Good for Adults Age 55+
- Categories:
- Book Discussion
- Calendar:
- Arlington Public Library
About the Book:
"A spectacular debut filled with great characters and heart." —Lisa See, author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
FINALIST FOR THE 2022 DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE · FINALIST FOR THE BALCONES FICTION PRIZE · LONGLISTED FOR THE HWA DEBUT CROWN AWARD
An epic story of love, war, and redemption set against the backdrop of the Korean independence movement, following the intertwined fates of a young girl sold to a courtesan school and the penniless son of a hunter
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.