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lynxpardinus's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Cancer, Car accident, Grief, Death, Misogyny, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Child death, Classism, Murder, Violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Mental illness
Moderate: Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Ableism, Body shaming, Blood, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Rape and Pedophilia
sarah984's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
"Lemon" is a novel that revolves around a murder, but finding the identity of the perpetrator (who is pretty obvious right from the start) isn't really the goal. The book describes the way the murder affects the surviving characters and the ways they construct their own actions and see themselves. Iβd have rated it 5 stars but there were some aspects of describing the girl who was murdered that are pivotal to the plot but I found them really grating. Overall though, if you like true crime or crime novels (though this isn't really a thriller) I think you will enjoy this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Body shaming, Cancer, Car accident, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Kidnapping, and Medical content
Minor: Ableism, Rape, and Stalking
whatellisreadnext's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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Hae-on was murdered at 19, the case was left unsolved. Da-on, her sister, trying to recover from this loss, sets out to find the truth.
Lemon is a short, dark and captivating novel about a sister trying to find justice. I read this today within a few hours, I just couldn't turn the pages quick enough.
We get multiple perspectives, and it's not stated who they are immediately, like a lot of the novel you have to come to your own conclusions. Which I loved. When everything slid into place at the end I did a little gasp. It's pretty evident fairly early on who the murderer is, but that wasn't the shocking part.
For such a short book, this goes to some super dark places, it reminded me a lot of The Vegetarian by Han Kang, and how as the reader we're just forced to just go with the flow.
I highly recommend this if you love mysteries and short translated fiction. Thanks so much to Head of Zeus for the gifted copy, and for allowing me to be a part of this tour! (AD-PR PRODUCT)
Hae-on was murdered at 19, the case was left unsolved. Da-on, her sister, trying to recover from this loss, sets out to find the truth.
Lemon is a short, dark and captivating novel about a sister trying to find justice. I read this today within a few hours, I just couldn't turn the pages quick enough.
We get multiple perspectives, and it's not stated who they are immediately, like a lot of the novel you have to come to your own conclusions. Which I loved. When everything slid into place at the end I did a little gasp. It's pretty evident fairly early on who the murderer is, but that wasn't the shocking part.
For such a short book, this goes to some super dark places, it reminded me a lot of The Vegetarian by Han Kang, and how as the reader we're just forced to just go with the flow.
I highly recommend this if you love mysteries and short translated fiction. Thanks so much to Head of Zeus for the gifted copy, and for allowing me to be a part of this tour! (AD-PR PRODUCT)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Body shaming, Child death, Car accident, Death of parent, Death, Eating disorder, and Grief
anitaxlit's review against another edition
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I requested this book thinking it would be a tale of murder and revenge, and those themes appealed to me as we approach the darker months of the year. That's not what this book is. Lemon offered something surprising and, in many ways, better.
Narrated by three women touched in some measure by the murder of Hae-on when she was a teenager, Lemon is the story of the ones left behind. It's about spiraling uncontrollably and grief that looks very, very ugly. Despite the dark topic, Kwon Yeo-Sun's prose is beautiful in a disconcerting way that made me squirm in my seat.
It struck me how little we know of Hae-on considering she is an all consuming presence in the book. Who was she? Was she really as aloof and unconcerned as the women in her life believed her to be? And why did she leave the house the day of her murder? When it came to Da-on, the main narrator, I was divided. At times I felt compassion and sadness for her traumatic experiences, and others I was astonished to feel suspicious of her. Da-on's grief doesn't feel genuine all the time. Her obsession with Hae-on's murder seems to be inseparable from her self-centered personality. The thought I most often had while reading was: Did she ever truly care for her sister?
As you can see, this book left me with many unanswered questions. If you want clear-cut answers, Lemon might not be for you. I personally don't mind this that much, and though I finished it thinking it could have done with a little more closure, it's a good reminder that sometimes there can be none, no matter how hard we look for it.
I requested this book thinking it would be a tale of murder and revenge, and those themes appealed to me as we approach the darker months of the year. That's not what this book is. Lemon offered something surprising and, in many ways, better.
Narrated by three women touched in some measure by the murder of Hae-on when she was a teenager, Lemon is the story of the ones left behind. It's about spiraling uncontrollably and grief that looks very, very ugly. Despite the dark topic, Kwon Yeo-Sun's prose is beautiful in a disconcerting way that made me squirm in my seat.
It struck me how little we know of Hae-on considering she is an all consuming presence in the book. Who was she? Was she really as aloof and unconcerned as the women in her life believed her to be? And why did she leave the house the day of her murder? When it came to Da-on, the main narrator, I was divided. At times I felt compassion and sadness for her traumatic experiences, and others I was astonished to feel suspicious of her. Da-on's grief doesn't feel genuine all the time. Her obsession with Hae-on's murder seems to be inseparable from her self-centered personality. The thought I most often had while reading was: Did she ever truly care for her sister?
As you can see, this book left me with many unanswered questions. If you want clear-cut answers, Lemon might not be for you. I personally don't mind this that much, and though I finished it thinking it could have done with a little more closure, it's a good reminder that sometimes there can be none, no matter how hard we look for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder, and Mental illness
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Physical abuse
Minor: Ableism and Car accident
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