Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Lemon by Kwon Yeo-sun

8 reviews

tashtasher's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Cancer, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Terminal illness, and Bullying

Minor: Classism

samagra's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

zzzzzz

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, Rape, and Suicide

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad

5.0

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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

fremlo's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Rape

oliviachap9's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Cancer

Minor: Rape and Sexual harassment

milos_booknook's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.25

Do not expect this to be a murder mystery but rather a portrayal of grief and trauma through time. Despite its short length, the novel is filled with social critiques of contemporary Korea, highlighting the inequality, corruption and sexism issues. 

 

The writing is quite plain for my taste and I feel that the characters were not developed thoroughly. Many of the phrases and descriptions seem a bit cliché and antiquated. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Murder, and Violence

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. I’d 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.

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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

futurama's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

A whodunnit told from the perspective of three women some sort of proximity to the deceased. 
Wow! I didn't expect to enjoy this so much. Pitched like a thriller, most reviews said to expect more of a literary novella rather than a crime novel. However, Kwon balanced genres like an expert. It's still a murder mystery

there are subtle hints throughout the book to know who the murderer is and what someone does for revenge

but it's also an experimental form. 
Before reading, I didn't know the novel was narrated by three different people. I enjoyed getting to know the three perspectives and trying to figure out who each person was. I wish it was longer, there were some societal and cultural elements that could have been fleshed out with more words, but I enjoyed the small amount of time I had with Da-on and others. 
I guessed who the culprits were but I'm not one hundred percent on it. I'd love to discuss with someone else. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Violence

Minor: Eating disorder