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Lemon

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( 14,468 ratings, 2,223 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Lemon is a psychological portrait of three women haunted by an unsolved crime, centred on the 2002 murder of Kim Hae-on, the High School Beauty Murder. With suspects but no resolution, the story explores the devastating impact on Hae-on's younger sister, Da-on, who strives to uncover the truth in her own unsettling way. Told through the perspectives of Da-on and two classmates, the novel blends elements of crime fiction with a deep examination of privilege, jealousy, trauma, and the scars left by violence.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$2299
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers who appreciate psychological thrillers and literary fiction that delve into social issues and emotional complexity. Fans of crime novels with a deeper thematic focus and those interested in contemporary Korean literature will find this novel compelling.

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Focusing on the unsolved murder of teenage girl, this literary novel offers insights into gender, class and privilege in Seoul, and marks the English-language debut for award-winning Korean author, Kwon Yeo-sun.

Focusing on the unsolved murder of teenage girl, this literary novel offers insights into gender, class and privilege in Seoul, and marks the English-language debut for award-winning Korean author, Kwon Yeo-sun.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

This is not a murder story. It is the story of those left behind. Parasite meets The Good Son in this piercing psychological portrait of three women haunted by a brutal, unsolved crime.

In the summer of 2002, Kim Hae-on was killed in what became known as the High School Beauty Murder. There were two suspects: Shin Jeongjun, who had a rock-solid alibi, and Han Manu, to whom no evidence could be pinned. The case went cold.

Seventeen years pass without justice, 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, 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.

Praise for Lemon:

'Discovering whodunnit isn't really the point here; Lemon is a subtle, often intense meditation on the after-effects of violence' Guardian

'Chilling, suspenseful and disconcerting... I couldn't put it down and read deep into the night until I finished it, with my heart hammering' Frances Cha, author of If I Had Your Face

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

A haunting and razor-sharp exploration of class, gender, and privilege in contemporary Korea, Lemon transcends the typical crime novel. Praised for its taut, steely prose and psychological suspense, the book grips readers with intense emotional depth and complexity. Reviewers describe it as chilling, suspenseful, and unputdownable, with elegant writing that probes grief, guilt, and trauma well beyond the mystery at its core.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781800241497

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 04 August 2022

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Apollo

Contributors:

  • Translated by Janet Hong

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 16.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 127g

Pages: 176

About the Author

Kwon Yeo-sun is an award-winning Korean writer. She has won the Sangsang Literary Award, Oh Yeongsu Literature Award, Yi Sang Literary Prize, Hankook Ilbo Literary Award, Tong-ni Literature Prize and Lee Hyo-seok Literary Award. Lemon is her first novel to be published in the English language.

Janet Hong is a writer and translator based in Vancouver, Canada. She received the TA First Translation Prize and the LTI Korea Translation Award for her translation of Han Yujoo's The Impossible Fairy Tale, which was also a finalist for both the 2018 PEN Translation Prize and the National Translation Award. Her recent translations include Ha Seong-nan's Bluebeard's First Wife, Ancco's Nineteen, and Keum Suk Gendry-Kim's Grass.

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