New York Times Book Review: Editor’s Choice Philadelphia Inquirer: Best Book of the Month World Literature Today: Notable Translation of the Year CrimeReads: Best International Crime Novel of the Year Ms. Magazine: Most Anticipated Book of the Year Washington Independent Review of Books: Favorite Book of the Year Parasite meets The Good Son in this piercing psychological portrait of three …
Parasite meets The Good Son in this piercing psychological portrait of three women haunted by a brutal, unsolved crime.
In the summer of 2002, when Korea is abuzz over hosting the FIFA World Cup, eighteen-year-old Kim Hae-on is killed in what becomes known as the High School Beauty Murder. Two suspects quickly emerge: rich kid Shin Jeongjun, whose car Hae-on was last seen in, and delivery boy Han Manu, who witnessed her there just a few hours before her death. But when Jeongjun’s alibi checks out, and no evidence can be pinned on Manu, the case goes cold.
Seventeen years pass without any resolution for those close to Hae-on, and the grief and uncertainty take a cruel toll on her younger sister, Da-on, in particular. Unable to move on with her life, Da-on tries in her own twisted way to recover some of what she’s lost, ultimately setting out to find the truth of what happened.
Shifting between the perspectives of Da-on and two of Hae-on’s classmates struck in different ways by her otherworldly beauty, Lemon ostensibly takes the shape of a crime novel. But identifying the perpetrator is not the main objective here: Kwon Yeo-sun uses this well-worn form to craft a searing, timely exploration of privilege, jealousy, trauma, and how we live with the wrongs we have endured and inflicted in turn.
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I was still left guessing at the end!
I was so happy to be approved to listen to this advanced readers copy audio book. It’s not your traditional type of book being that it’s translated from another language, but I think that adds a unique element. So readers need to take this into account when immersing themselves in the story.
The story unfolds as with different angles of a tragic event and how it has shaped and impacted various individuals involved. Definitely not your typical psychological thriller or mystery, which makes the readers look beyond and actually think rather than just sit back and be entertained. Characters struggle with various emotions and traumas as they traverse into adulthood. What’s clear is that there are no easy answers. You see lots of other social dilemmas at play which makes this story even more poignant. If you’re looking for a book that will keep you thinking long after you finish then look no further
Special thanks to the following for the early listen of this audio book:
#RBMedia #Lemon #NetGalley
The murder, the accused, the emotions, the residual
“Lemon” is the story of a murder of a young girl, still unsolved after many years but not forgotten. This is not a traditional crime fiction search for the perpetrator; it is the story of those who remain — those accused, traumatized, and transformed by this one terrible act. The novel is organized as a hodgepodge of first-person narratives, mostly by the main character, Kim Da-on; other points of view appear as well. Some chapters are structured as detached observations of events and individuals while others are full of personal and intimate details. The title of each chapter reflects both the date of the events and the concerns of each narrator at that point in time. There are casual conversations and ordinary events, as well as the disclosure of deep fears and doubts.
“Lemon” is a short book, quick to read, but hard to forget. It is filled with little snippets in time that reflect the big picture of life; what happened in the past never goes away. It is emotional, intense, and often just creepy. I received a review copy of “Lemon” from Kwon Yeo-Son, and Other Press. The translation by Janet Hong is clear and consistent, however, my own unfamiliarity with Korean names made me work a little to keep track of the characters. “Lemon” is an unforgettable journey with an emotional punch.
My thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for my e-ARC.
Hae-on AKA Kim Hye-eun, beauty queen, has passed away. Not naturally. She was murdered…brutally. For years, the case goes unsolved. The one most affected by her death is Da-on, her younger sister. They were not close. Far from it.
Da-on lived in the shadow of her sister even after death. Yet, she was obsessed. She just had to investigate.
This book was not at all what I expected, a thriller told from multiple perspectives. Totally my fault for not reading the blurb carefully. Although this book was short, it felt very long and tedious. The writing was all-over-the-place and seemed like random, nonsensical ramblings. The time leaps were arbitrary. Also, the narrator was not clear. It would have helped to title the chapters with the name of the character.