Reviews

Hạnh nhân by Won-pyung Sohn

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leticiamacedo's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring sad fast-paced

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

4.0

khaufnaak's review against another edition

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5.0

I enjoyed this book deeply. The first half of it is fascinating, hearing about the protagonist’s experiences navigating the world. There is decent commentary on the relationship between the medical community (doctors) and people with mental conditions. You get to feel the emotions that the protagonist doesn’t. It’s interesting to read from the protagonist’s emotionless perspective. The second half of it is fulfilling, emotional. The protagonists starts to form deeper relationships with others.

I’ve seen some good criticisms of this book. Midway through I wondered, how could this book end well? I certainly don’t know much of any other potential good endings this story could have had. I agree with people who say the ending is too perfect, but I was quite a bit ready for a sappy and neat ending. I also understand the criticism of the story’s engagement with neurodiversity, or lack thereof. I think some of the protagonists’ character development would’ve been better off perhaps not happening at all. I also think there are some points that do engage with neurodiveristy a bit better, not by name. We get to see the world from the perspective of someone who people try to help, but he doesn’t understand why they are trying to help or how it is helpful to him.

At the end of the day, I still like this book. I’m happy the author had a note at the end, talking about her feelings and intent towards the book. It humanized her and her efforts. I know some of the characters in the book are frequent archetypes, but I think that’s okay, just because it’s common, it isn’t bad. The writing is good, it evoked emotion for me as the reader so well. My father isn’t a big reader, but he liked the story when I told him about it too. I think something about this story just speaks to the heart. You are reminded about how to feel things.