Lemon

'A haunting literary crime story ... Razor-sharp observations of class, gender and privilege in contemporary Korea, this page turner is one for fans of Diary of a Murderer: And Other Stories' * Cosmopolitan * 'With taut, steely prose, Kwon burrows into the details surrounding the shocking murder of a beautiful girl. Though Lemon takes the form of a mystery and there's psychological suspense that will grip you all the way to the end, it isn't just a whodunnit. Hidden on every page are explorations of grief and guilt, how one should go on after a tragedy. It jolts with its brilliance and tartness. It's simply electric' -- Kyung-sook Shin, author of Please Look After Mother and I'll Be Right There 'With taut, crisp writing, Kwon Yeo-sun deftly walks the tightrope of psychological suspense, and at the same time transcends the well-known framework of the crime novel to explore the emotional depths of grief, guilt, privilege, and trauma. A smart, well-crafted page-turner' -- Tami Hoag, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Boy 'Kwon Yeo-sun's Lemon is a gripping mystery with an eccentric and thought-provoking edge. It's quite the unputdownable read!' -- June Hur, author of The Silence of Bones and The Forest of Stolen Girls 'Lemon is a deliciously rewarding novel that delves into assumptions about power, wealth, beauty, love, ability, and right to compensation. How well do we know each other? How do we move on from violent loss? I'm in awe of Kwon's gorgeous prose and intricately crafted mystery at the heart of this elegant thriller' -- Jimin Han, author of A Small Revolution 'Though the narrative takes the form of a detective novel, it becomes a meditation on envy, grief and, this being South Korea, plastic surgery. Understated yet lingeringly eerie' * Guardian * 'Chilling, suspenseful and disconcerting. A story of taking things into one's own hands, when driven to despair by injustice and grief. I couldn't put it down and read deep into the night until I finished it, with my heart hammering' -- Frances Cha, author of If I Had Your Face 'Kwon Yeo-sun quickly cracks open the secret rivalries between teenage girls to reveal an unending silent scream of loneliness, cruelty, and nihilism that goes on to permeate their adult lives. What a jet-black switchblade of a book!' -- Sandi Tan, director of Shirkers and author of Lurkers 'A chilling yet deeply moving story about grief, trauma, life, death, and the shattered pieces left behind by those who are gone. The humanity of Kwon's characters will break your heart on every page' -- An Yu, author of Braised Pork 'Charming, beguiling, and unique. At the heart of this 'mystery' is a poetic meditation on grief, guilt, and the meaning of life. In the end, Lemon, like a great painting, makes you see the world differently' -- Patrick Hoffman, author of Clean Hands and Every Man a Menace 'A confounding masterpiece, Lemon is a meditation on grief, death, beauty, God, and art, wrapped in the mourning clothes of a murder mystery. One of the most profound page-turners you will ever encounter, and the first English translation of a major Korean author who should be on everyone's radar' -- Matthew Salesses, author of Craft in the Real World 'It's a sly, subtle piece of literary crime, carefully playing on its shifting perspectives to unsettling effect. An intriguing read' * Wiltshire Living * 'Had me gripped from the start ... 'The author's skill is to drop a hint as to who did the deed, but then retain our interest through deft portrait-painting of the different characters in the story (narrators and otherwise), presenting us with motivations and suspicions that conflict with our provisional view' * London Korean Links *