Reviews with content warning for Animal death - Almond

This was an interesting read for me. Not my preferred genre but it sounded like I said.. interesting. I was confused a bit by what tense it was in or maybe I just didn’t like it. The story overall was short but I liked it the concept kept it interesting to read. I enjoyed seeing the Mc find his emotions with the help of the people who care around him.

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starryfruits's review against another edition

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dark hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

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

5.0

Easy to read and well paced and well written.
I teared up twice but not at the moments you think.
Its a great character study and bit of psychology in a non-academic way.
I didnt have any complaints

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navayiota's review

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challenging dark informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Yet another banger. I wish I had known earlier that there are so many great Korean authors, and I hope others won't make the same mistake as me and wait so long to explore Korean literature. I can easily see this becoming a modern classic, and it will be completely justified. Almond is a flawless exploration of disability in society, and a character study of a boy unable to feel emotions. This book had me gasping, tearing up and giggling.. highly recommend.

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wollhaarmammut's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

While I enjoyed the overall premise of the book, the plot was a bit much for me. I would have loved to explore the thoughts and human connections of the protagonist more, to be able to really get inside his head. Unfortunately, the overwhelming and sometimes painfully absurd plot did not allow me to relate as much with the characters as I would have liked.

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andreapap15's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.75

"I do not know how this story will un- fold. As I said, neither you nor I nor any- one can ever know whether a story is happy or tragic. It may be impossible to categorize a story so neatly in the first place. Life takes on various flavors as it flows.

I've decided to confront it. Confront whatever life throws at me, as I always have. And however much I can feel, nothing more, nothing less."

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mak97's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.75

My heart was broken, my gut was wrenched, and ironically I will be buying this so that I can read it when I need TO FEEL something.

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shelbae_smirth's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

What really took this book over line and made it 5⭐️’s was the author & translator’s note at the end. The story was great but hearing how the story came to be added a lot for me.

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tinyjude's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

2.5

I liked the idea better than the execution by far. Many people with this condition have already explained how the narrative and the portrayal of Yunjae feel ableist and ignorant at many points, so I won't add anything because they did a much better job and it's not my place. It's true however, that the final chapters' message rubbed me the wrong way, as it seemed to suggest that someone with that condition was not human and only through love they can be considered human. He is described as a heartless monster too. I found that very disrespectful.

Furthermore, although the idea of using such polar opposites (Yunjae-Goni) to make them more complex and have some development, was interesting, Goni was such an unlikeable character, who fell flat and underdeveloped. The social critique was interesting in some points, thou, like calling out how some people who are considered compassionate and empathic, can look at someone else's pain or tragedy and not be moved, since it's not their own.

Many other plot points just were completely unrealistic and jarring in contrast with the overall narrative (which attempted to be realistic). Such is the climax of the novel, the way the teacher introduces Yunjae to the other students, and the lack of depth/research in the descriptions of the condition.

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