2treads 's review for:

The Last Tiger by Brad Riew, Julia Riew

3.5

challenging hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Riew based this story on their grandparents' experience in a subjugated Korea. Using a fantasy setting with animals that are core to the mythology and history of the region was a brilliant choice. The Dragon and the Tiger are animals that are associated with power, strength, and cunning. The colonial power attacked the heart of the people by erasing their language and cultural practices, ensuring that generations coming of age under colonial rule would question the worth of their heritage and choose to follow the path set out for them. A path that promised a future of prosperity that always seemed out of reach. 

Even though I enjoyed the friendship and bond that formed between Seung and Eunji, that paled when compared to how their societal standing was used to illustrate the fortunes of those who stood with the empire, leveraging their contacts and business to gain favour and retain an element of prestige while those less so would have to toil and be policed and targeted to remain cowed and non-threatening. 

But where a people have been violated and downtrodden, there's always a spark of revolution and I loved how they approached the final reckoning.