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A review by anitaxlit
Lemon by Kwon Yeo-sun
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, Mental illness, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism and Car accident