Lemon
Ratings24
Average rating3.4
15
Ratings24
Average rating3.4
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 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.
Reviews with the most likes.
I'm not even sure if I can accurately summarize this novel without regurgitating what the jacket said. If you're looking for a “whodunnit” story, this isn't it. If you're looking for a story about the ripple effect of tragedy and trauma, this is what you're looking for. The writing was beautiful and flowed smoothly. The translator did an incredible job of bringing the gorgeous prose the author wrote to life in English. I appreciated the footnotes when there wasn't a direct translation; it added a lot of color and life to the language on the page. The story itself was just okay - totally middle of the road for me. I found it a bit difficult to figure out what character we were following in each chapter until the very end. The novel also felt a little too short and I wanted to know a little bit more about certain characters. Overall, it was a quick, heavy, and beautifully translated read so if you're in the mood for that, Lemon is for you!
This is so beautiful and heartfelt. I thought it was more of a mystery for some reason, but it's not at all, though you do learn who the killer is. It's about grief and how it follows and affects us. It's beautiful.
This was something of a unique read!
I admit to finding it a tad confusing keeping up with all the names.
It was well written in parts and posed some good questions.
Thank you to PH and Kwon Yeo-Sun for the chance to read this book.
