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dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
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
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence
Moderate: Ableism
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
TW: graphic depictions of violence; blood; ableism; animal cruelty; bullying; physical & emotional abuses
An explorative story that contrast the life & experience of the boy who did not feel any emotions with the boy who felt too much. Yunjae's mechanical view of the world, though detached at times, had depth; providing greater perception. In fact, I'd argue he tend to be more perceptive than others in the story, particularly in terms of his interaction & subsequent understanding of Gon.
Sohn, the original author, stipulated that she was interested to explore our ability to be compassionate to less-than-perfect, i.e., what our society will deem "abnormal" children (though I detest the stigma implied by the concept). Yunjae was one example. Gon was the other. Her writings were brutal, as was reflected by the cruelty displayed by Gon. But I think Sohn, & Lee, the story translator, did well by not so much minimising his cruelty, but rather highlighting the possible root to his behavioural problem; one that eventually was explicitly delineated by Yunjae later.
Ableism is a common theme within this story. It has to be noted that my experience with ableism relating to mental illness meant that I'm very limited in my ability to comment on this in relation to Yunjae's alexithymia. Through Yunjae, we were shown how unforgiving the society could be towards anyone which deviated from the "norm". This theme was prevalent throughout the story, with Yunjae engaging in masking; being a victim of bully & prejudice. I thought his conversations with Dr. Shim provided some insights into how a neurodiverse person had to "adapt" into a less-than-inclusive world; Dr. Shim's compassion particularly respectable in his solicitude.
Although the ending, whereby Yunjae's "miraculous" ability to experience emotion - reflecting "cure" from alexithymia - may perpetuate a very ableist view; Yunjae's subsequent introspection which criticized our view on normality may just balanced things out. Though understandably, this might be triggering for some.
If anything were to be taken from this story is that we must address the highly stigmatizing & exclusionary view of what is considered acceptable in society. Also, compassion is a highly valuable element to the betterment of society.
Almond was a reflective story that will grip your mind & humanity.
An explorative story that contrast the life & experience of the boy who did not feel any emotions with the boy who felt too much. Yunjae's mechanical view of the world, though detached at times, had depth; providing greater perception. In fact, I'd argue he tend to be more perceptive than others in the story, particularly in terms of his interaction & subsequent understanding of Gon.
Sohn, the original author, stipulated that she was interested to explore our ability to be compassionate to less-than-perfect, i.e., what our society will deem "abnormal" children (though I detest the stigma implied by the concept). Yunjae was one example. Gon was the other. Her writings were brutal, as was reflected by the cruelty displayed by Gon. But I think Sohn, & Lee, the story translator, did well by not so much minimising his cruelty, but rather highlighting the possible root to his behavioural problem; one that eventually was explicitly delineated by Yunjae later.
Ableism is a common theme within this story. It has to be noted that my experience with ableism relating to mental illness meant that I'm very limited in my ability to comment on this in relation to Yunjae's alexithymia. Through Yunjae, we were shown how unforgiving the society could be towards anyone which deviated from the "norm". This theme was prevalent throughout the story, with Yunjae engaging in masking; being a victim of bully & prejudice. I thought his conversations with Dr. Shim provided some insights into how a neurodiverse person had to "adapt" into a less-than-inclusive world; Dr. Shim's compassion particularly respectable in his solicitude.
Although the ending,
If anything were to be taken from this story is that we must address the highly stigmatizing & exclusionary view of what is considered acceptable in society. Also, compassion is a highly valuable element to the betterment of society.
Almond was a reflective story that will grip your mind & humanity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-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 a super solid book! I felt the author/translator really expressed the emotionless mind of Yunjae well through their writing and I really did feel for him. This book contained a lot more hard hitting topics than I initially had thought it would, but I really enjoyed that aspect of this book. We got to see Gon and Yunjae's relationship bloom, and how they both navigated being teenagers coming from tumultuous backgrounds.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence