Lemon

It's the summer of 2002 and 18 year old Kim Hae-on is found dead, the victim of blunt force trauma to the head. The High School Beauty Murder, as it is come to be known, vacillated between two possible suspects; the wealthy Shin Jeongjun who was seen driving Hae-on that fateful day and Han Manu, an awkward delivery boy who had seen them both in their fancy SUV. It's Serial by way of Parasite.

The book spans 27 years over its 8 chapters moving between 3 narrators caught in the aftershocks of that tragic event. Kim Da-on, Hae-on's sister, has “pondered, prodded, and worked every detail” in the ensuing years. Consumed by her death she even undergoes surgery to appear more like her beautiful sister. Yum Taerim, a witness on that fateful day, is a woman unravelling as we eavesdrop into her conversations with helplines and doctors. And finally Sanghui, a friend of Da-on who offers her own unique insight as the years go on.

It's a slight book that prompted a quick second reading that revealed additional layers to the story. It defies genre categorization and like so much of the translated Korean works that make its way here, is a disquieting, open-ended read that flirts with the surreal. It's a whole vibe that I'm only just starting to get the hang of.