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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
emotional
inspiring
slow-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
I think teaching has made me especially soft when it comes to Korean high schoolers, so I really enjoyed reading about Yunjae and seeing the world through his eyes. Yunjae's insights are incredibly blunt (seriously, this boy has ZERO nunchi), but often hilarious because of it. The writing style really helps puts you in the mind of someone with Alexithymia, and I'm all for reading books with neurodivergent characters.
My only real issue though was with the ending, which was cheesy beyond belief at best, and deeply problematic at worst. Basically, Yunjae comes to be "cured" of his condition through sacrifice and the power of friendship??? Kind of nonsensical and a little offensive to actual people with disabilities who can't just "cure" themselves of their supposed ailment. I'm trying to be a little more forgiving though considering Korea's long history of just shoving disability under the rug.
Fun book in translation, but not revolutionary by any means. 3.5 stars.
My only real issue though was with the ending, which was cheesy beyond belief at best, and deeply problematic at worst. Basically, Yunjae comes to be "cured" of his condition through sacrifice and the power of friendship??? Kind of nonsensical and a little offensive to actual people with disabilities who can't just "cure" themselves of their supposed ailment. I'm trying to be a little more forgiving though considering Korea's long history of just shoving disability under the rug.
Fun book in translation, but not revolutionary by any means. 3.5 stars.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
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
this was meh
i felt like i was the one with alexithymia because i felt nothing for this book lmao.
also, people with alexithymia don’t know how to close their eyes? isn’t that shit kinda automatic? i thought the construct only applied to emotions.
i thought that this author painted people who were born with alexithymia in an exaggerated way.
maybe i’ve become too soft now that i’m older
but i cannot stand bullying stories
i hated it in mieko kawakami’s heaven and i hate it in this book
i’m firmly against all kinds of bullying and i don’t enjoy reading about it even if it does mirror reality
i don’t like how it’s normalized in our society
that to pass the stage of adolescence you must experience it
i don’t agree with that
unfortunately society doesn’t work that way and there will always be assholes born everyday
i felt like i was the one with alexithymia because i felt nothing for this book lmao.
also, people with alexithymia don’t know how to close their eyes? isn’t that shit kinda automatic? i thought the construct only applied to emotions.
i thought that this author painted people who were born with alexithymia in an exaggerated way.
maybe i’ve become too soft now that i’m older
but i cannot stand bullying stories
i hated it in mieko kawakami’s heaven and i hate it in this book
i’m firmly against all kinds of bullying and i don’t enjoy reading about it even if it does mirror reality
i don’t like how it’s normalized in our society
that to pass the stage of adolescence you must experience it
i don’t agree with that
unfortunately society doesn’t work that way and there will always be assholes born everyday
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
fast-paced
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This story really touched me and formed a thread linking several texts I've read throughout the years:
The friendship in the children's book [b:Freak the Mighty|8953|Freak the Mighty (Freak the Mighty, #1)|Rodman Philbrick|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1440388999l/8953._SX50_.jpg|2049173] between two outcast boys with respective mental and physical disabilities reminded me of the friendship between Gon and Yunjae. Both books deal with ostracism, "troubled" children, and neurodivergence/ableism.
[b:The Stranger|49552|The Stranger|Albert Camus|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1590930002l/49552._SY75_.jpg|3324344] and Almond both feature characters who are subjected to society's ire due to their failure to react to their family's deaths in a socially acceptable way. Along the lines of [b:Frankenstein: The 1818 Text|35031085|Frankenstein The 1818 Text|Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631088473l/35031085._SY75_.jpg|4836639], Almond draws out the humanity in the "monster" and the monstrosity in humanity. Both novels, along with The Stranger, further suggest that society projects its own indifference onto nonconforming individuals.
In Almond, Yunjae's mother warns him that, "Every social community needs a scapegoat." In this Aeon article, Alexander Plakias argues that the "awkward," or nonconforming individual, often becomes the scapegoat for awkward situations, which should instead be understood as a collective failure. Yunjae says that, "Without Mom to come up with sample dialogue for every new scenario, I was utterly helpless," evoking Plakias definition of awkward situations—those for which there is no social "script."
W.H. Auden's poem, "Musee des Beaux Arts," grapples with society's apathy and the bystander effect. Society's hypocrisy confounds Yunjae too, who says, "Most people could feel but they didn't act. They said they sympathized but easily forgot." Empathy does not make a good person. Emotions and ethics are distinct.
I found the translator's note fascinating as well—It must have been a challenge to provoke the reader's emotions when translating the words of a character who is meant to be emotionless. I also appreciated that the translator sensed the homoerotic undertones of Gon and Yunjae's friendship :D
Giving this five stars because it's the first book in a while that has impacted me so deeply and also helped me think through my thesis on criminal insanity. But that's not to say the novel is without fault:.
The friendship in the children's book [b:Freak the Mighty|8953|Freak the Mighty (Freak the Mighty, #1)|Rodman Philbrick|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1440388999l/8953._SX50_.jpg|2049173] between two outcast boys with respective mental and physical disabilities reminded me of the friendship between Gon and Yunjae. Both books deal with ostracism, "troubled" children, and neurodivergence/ableism.
[b:The Stranger|49552|The Stranger|Albert Camus|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1590930002l/49552._SY75_.jpg|3324344] and Almond both feature characters who are subjected to society's ire due to their failure to react to their family's deaths in a socially acceptable way. Along the lines of [b:Frankenstein: The 1818 Text|35031085|Frankenstein The 1818 Text|Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631088473l/35031085._SY75_.jpg|4836639], Almond draws out the humanity in the "monster" and the monstrosity in humanity. Both novels, along with The Stranger, further suggest that society projects its own indifference onto nonconforming individuals.
In Almond, Yunjae's mother warns him that, "Every social community needs a scapegoat." In this Aeon article, Alexander Plakias argues that the "awkward," or nonconforming individual, often becomes the scapegoat for awkward situations, which should instead be understood as a collective failure. Yunjae says that, "Without Mom to come up with sample dialogue for every new scenario, I was utterly helpless," evoking Plakias definition of awkward situations—those for which there is no social "script."
W.H. Auden's poem, "Musee des Beaux Arts," grapples with society's apathy and the bystander effect. Society's hypocrisy confounds Yunjae too, who says, "Most people could feel but they didn't act. They said they sympathized but easily forgot." Empathy does not make a good person. Emotions and ethics are distinct.
I found the translator's note fascinating as well—It must have been a challenge to provoke the reader's emotions when translating the words of a character who is meant to be emotionless. I also appreciated that the translator sensed the homoerotic undertones of Gon and Yunjae's friendship :D
Giving this five stars because it's the first book in a while that has impacted me so deeply and also helped me think through my thesis on criminal insanity. But that's not to say the novel is without fault: