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Title details for Lemon by Kwon Yeo-Sun - Available

Lemon

by Kwon Yeo-Sun
Janet Hong
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
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2 of 2 copies available
PARASITE 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.
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.
Shifting 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.
Kwon Yeo-sun was born in Andong, South Korea, and now lives in Seoul. In 1996 she received the Sangsang Literary Award for her debut novel, Niche of Green. Her subsequent novels and short stories have received numerous literary awards, including the Hankook Ilbo Literary Award, Yi Sang Literary Prize, and the Oh Yeong-su Literature Award, among others. Lemon is her first novel to be published in English.

Janet Hong is a writer and translator based in Vancouver, Canada. She received the 2018 TA First Translation Prize and the 16th LTI Korea Translation Award for her translation of Han Yujoo's The Impossible Fairy Tale, which was also a finalist for both the 2018 PEN Translation Prize and the 2018 National Translation Award. Her recent translations include Ha Seong-nan's Bluebeard's First Wife, Ancco's Nineteen, and Keum Suk Gendry-Kim's Grass.

Author Residence: Seoul, South Korea

Author Hometown: Andong, South Korea

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    October 12, 2021

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781705037447
      • File size: 93766 KB
      • Duration: 03:15:20

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      August 16, 2021
      South Korean author Kwon’s powerful English-language debut explores issues of jealousy, loss, and physical beauty. Long after the event, “short and dumpy” Kim Da-on remains obsessed with the 2002 murder of her preternaturally beautiful but strange older sister, Hae-on, in high school, whether in imagining the scene in the investigation room, trying to embody her sister’s look through plastic surgery, befriending the family of one of the suspects in a search for closure, or diving into poetry and prayer. Chapters are structured as short stories, with notable shifts of tone between sections. Most are narrated by Da-on, either introspectively or obliquely through one-sided conversations with counselors, but some approach Da-on from the perspective of an old friend meeting her years later. Though the novel has the bones of an unsolved crime story, any objective solution is besides the point, even as Da-on’s conversations with others yield more information. Those ready to sink into a creepy and intense yet understated emotional experience will find that this story hits and sticks. Agent: Barbara Zitwer, Barbara J. Zitwer Agency.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      LEMON is a somewhat elliptical, somewhat brilliant audiobook held together by the strong performances of three narrators. Without Greta Jung, Jaine Ye, and Greg Chun providing very different voices, it would be easy for listeners to get lost in this short listen. A print version, with its visual clues, still might be a useful companion to the audiobook. All three narrator performances are excellent, though Ye's is perhaps the most memorable; her character radiates anxiety. The plot involves the 2002 murder of a beautiful South Korean girl, Kim Hae-on, and its lasting impacts on those around her, especially Da-on, her younger sister, and a few former classmates. It is as much a character study as a mystery. A compelling listen. G.S. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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