Lemon: A Novel

Product Description 
NAMED A MOST-ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE YEAR BY MS. MAGAZINE AND CRIMEREADSParasite 
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.\nSeventeen 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. \nShifting 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. 
 Review 
“ 
Lemon is easy to devour in one sitting, but…should be read slowly and closely in order to appreciate it when Kwon pulls off what I can describe only as a sleight of hand…Kwon’s writing is masterly. Her sentences are crisp, concise, and potent; just one contains as much meaning as two or three of your average storyteller’s…Her hypnotic effect will stay with the reader long after the last page has been read. You’ll wish there were more; but you’ll be grateful it ended as it did…a bright, intense, refreshing story.” —Oyinkan Braithwaite, 
New York Times Book Review\n“A striking teenage girl is found dead…The victim’s sister, Da-On, still obsessed with the murder [years later], revisits some of its principal figures in unnerving, elliptical chapters.” — 
New York Times, New Works of Fiction to Read This Season\n“A haunting literary crime story…Razor-sharp observations of class, gender, and privilege in contemporary Korea…[a] page-turner.” — 
Cosmopolitan \n“Kwon Yeo-sun brings eerie beauty to crime fiction.” — 
The Guardian\n“A deftly written exploration of life and death, grief, revenge, and acceptance of the unknown, all cloaked in an engaging murder mystery.” — 
Ms. Magazine, Most Anticipated Reads\n“A powerhouse thriller told in elliptical interlinked stories…A deservedly successful Stateside debut that should assure future imports.” — 
Booklist (starred review)\n“ 
Lemon stands among the best in the growing body of translated Korean thrillers…The novel carefully positions the central crime within a larger context of class and competition. The complexity of the story betrays its small size, but the driving narrative makes it difficult not to read in one sitting.” — 
CrimeReads, Most Anticipated Books of the Year\n“Through skillful, emotional prose, [ 
Lemon] offers tantalizing hints about the truth without giving away all of its secrets…a haunting novel about women trapped in an endless cycle of trauma and grief.” — 
Foreword Reviews (starred review)\n“Kwon’s brief, fierce novel takes daring leaps through time…A chilling examination of the repercussions of violence.” — 
Kirkus Reviews\n“Kwon’s powerful English-language debut explores issues of jealousy, loss, and physical beauty…Those ready to sink into a creepy and intense yet understated emotional experience will find that this story hits and sticks.” — 
Publishers Weekly\n“[A] crime novel about privilege and trauma. Salacious 
and deep!” — 
Nylon \n“With taut, crisp writing, Kwon Yeo-sun deftly walks the tightrope of psychological suspense, and at the same time tran

Literature & Fiction

Kwon, Yeo-sun

Genre Fiction

Other Press

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.

Lemon

LA CROISEE

KOREAN CONTEMPORARY SHORT STORIES Selected from KOREANA Magazine

Kim Sum

JEONG Yi Hyun

The Korea Foundation

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