Lemon by Kwon Yeo-Sun was published in 2021.
I’ll be honest. I know we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but that’s exactly what I did with Lemon by Kwon Yeo-Sun. The cover was bright and eye-catching and made me want to find out more. The premise also intrigued me so I didn’t go in completely blind!
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Plot
In the summer of 2002, Korea and Japan are hosts to the football world cup. Amidst the excitement and anticipation, a nineteen-year-old girl is murdered. School girl Kim Hae-on was beautiful and beguiling and the whole school is shocked by her murder. There are two main suspects but without any solid evidence, the case goes cold.
The story is told from three different viewpoints and focuses on the aftermath of Hae-on’s murder and the impact it had on those who knew her.
Lemon Book Review
For such a short novel (less than 200 pages), this story certainly creates an impact. It’s so much more than your typical whodunnit. It’s a clever, twisty exploration of grief and guilt and each of the eight chapters packs a punch.
The switching of narrators was really well done and I found myself constantly questioning their reliability. We read from the perspective of Da-on, Hae-on’s younger sister, who in many ways was always in her sister’s shadow, even after her death. I found her insights particularly fascinating. We also hear from two of Hae-on’s former classmates and the story stretches over the years following her murder.
The story is complicated and fragmented and the author drops hints and misdirections throughout to keep the reader guessing. I really liked that she doesn’t explicitly say what happened and she leaves it to the reader to come to their own conclusions.
I thought it was really cleverly written and quite unlike anything I have read before. I feel it’s important to point out this isn’t a thriller. The blurb may make readers believe it is, but it’s much more than that. It’s subtle and explorative and really focuses on the impact the death has on those around her. Who actually killed her is essentially a secondary story.
All in all, I really enjoyed Lemon. It was clever, well written and made me think.
What should I read after Lemon?
If you enjoyed Lemon, I would also recommend the following books:
- The Phonebox at the Edge of the World
- Before the Coffee Gets Cold
- Everything I Never Told You by Celest Ng
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. For more information please see my disclosure policy.