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my biggest issue was the plot, it seems to end really out of character and random - I do wonder if that's because oh who is narrating, it made it come off odd.
there was also a lot of violence that I did not expect...
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Physical abuse
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Violence, Murder
Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent
Minor: Cursing
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Cursing, Blood, Grief
Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Abandonment
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death
So do you.
So do those you love and those you hate.
No one can feel them.
You just know they are there.
This story is, in short, about a monster meeting another monster. One of the monsters is me."
Have you ever met a 'monster' and stopped to think about what made them the way they are? Or are you one of those who has always skirted past such monsters in cold deserted streets hunched up against the dusty floor, not stirring to either offer help or ask how they are?
Translated from the Korean by Joosun Lee, 'Almond' begins with our narrator Yungae retelling the events starting from his birth, his boyhood days to his early teens.
These lines from the prologue set the tone for rest of this incredibly compact, quick paced novel about a boy who feels no emotions, who is incapable of any feeling or empathy. The disease is called Alexithymia which renders Yunjae's amygdala (the 'almond' in his brain) imperceptible to human emotions like love, happiness, anger, or pain. He can't react if someone physically injures him.
Throughout his childhood, Yunjae has been prepared by his mother & later his grandma to 'normalise' his behaviour and to put on an act of showcasing emotions in everyday situations even if he feels none, in order to blend in with the kids at school.
Christened with all kinds of names like a freak, a robot, a weirdo - he is affectionately called 'monster' by his grandma. But what happens if this solid support system is uprooted by an unforeseen tragedy? Yunjae must learn to survive and adapt in a cruel and unforgiving world, navigating the dark seas of emotions all alone. In this journey of self actualisation, he will come across some unexpected friends, a lot of bullies, a monster- another monster like him that will bind them together in an inseparable bond.
'Almond' is a story replete with beautiful descriptions of Seoul set against the backdrop of changing seasons in the streets, but is also haunted by the memories of sickness & tragedies. The ending will make you feel warm, teary & hopeful in unlikely friendships and about 'monsters' who can be saved. #ipreview via @preview.app
Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Death of parent