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emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
so. beautiful. great heavens.
first of all, the motive behind this book is absolutely heartwarming and i am so in love with the characters. they were unique and seething with beauty and life. especially yunjae was deeply relatable for me, and i thought it was an absolute treat to explore his brain and how he perceives things. it was so nice to read about loss and feelings from an objective point of view.
i'm also a huge fan of short chapters, since they just keep me going, which this one undoubtedly did. the relationship dynamics were really nice as well, adventurous and new.
the only thing i didn't quite like was the love interest. her character is fine and has some depth, however yunjae falling for her so easily felt strangely out of character and i thought it ruined the idyll of his character a little bit. the love interest simply wasn't necessary in my opinion.
the ending totally made up for that though. it was soooo sad and satisfying. such a gracious book.
:) my fav quote:
first of all, the motive behind this book is absolutely heartwarming and i am so in love with the characters. they were unique and seething with beauty and life. especially yunjae was deeply relatable for me, and i thought it was an absolute treat to explore his brain and how he perceives things. it was so nice to read about loss and feelings from an objective point of view.
i'm also a huge fan of short chapters, since they just keep me going, which this one undoubtedly did. the relationship dynamics were really nice as well, adventurous and new.
the only thing i didn't quite like was the love interest. her character is fine and has some depth, however yunjae falling for her so easily felt strangely out of character and i thought it ruined the idyll of his character a little bit. the love interest simply wasn't necessary in my opinion.
the ending totally made up for that though. it was soooo sad and satisfying. such a gracious book.
:) my fav quote:
so i don't know why people laugh or cry. joy, sorrow, love, fear—all these things are vague ideas to me. the words "emotion" and "empathy" are just meaningless letters in print.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Death of parent
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Blood, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Alcohol
challenging
emotional
reflective
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The brilliance of this novel is how, despite the story being told through the lens of someone incapable of experiencing typical emotions, the overall effect is a highly emotional one. It’s unsettling and upsetting, yet strangely uplifting. Yunjae’s inner monologue is oddly charming as he tries to make sense of the world and of human nature without a frame of reference most people take for granted. What is “good” or “evil” without the fear most of us are born with, or without the moral compass our society instills into us? What is love, exactly, without the fear of losing the ones who are dearest to us?
I enjoyed the short “chapters” of this book, which made it quick to read through and enhanced the fragmented, almost stream-of-consciousness style of the narrative. Part of me felt like resolution of the story was way too convenient, and while I was expecting a slightly darker or more ambiguous ending, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t relieved that everyone got a happy ending, more or less.
Almond clocks in at under 300 pages, making it easy to breeze through in a day or two. This was such a unique little story, and I’m so glad I picked it up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.99 ⭐ only because I kind of hate happy endings.
this story is a piece of art by all means. the journey I experienced alongside yunjae and gon was so beautiful. I love this book with every ounce of my body
this story is a piece of art by all means. the journey I experienced alongside yunjae and gon was so beautiful. I love this book with every ounce of my body
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Blood
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Murder
adventurous
challenging
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
ילד לומד לאהוב
ילד לומד לשנוא
ילד להשמיד את האנושות
הכתיבה לא הייתה חדה או חודרת והרגשתי שזה יכל להיות סיפור קצר במקום ספר
ילד לומד לשנוא
ילד להשמיד את האנושות
הכתיבה לא הייתה חדה או חודרת והרגשתי שזה יכל להיות סיפור קצר במקום ספר
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder
emotional
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I used to be able to win the prompt in Never Have I Ever, “Never have I ever cried to a book for 15 minutes straight”.
Nope. Not anymore.
Ironically, the book that made me so emotional was the book about a person without emotions - Well, even that’s complicated.
“Almond” is the story of Yunjae, who suffers from alexithymia, where the amygdala, the almond-shaped mass of grey matter in the brain that allows us to experience emotion, is small or underdeveloped. Therefore, Yunjae doesn’t experience emotions of anger or fear or happiness.
Even when his mother and grandmother are brutally attacked in front of him, causing his mother to plunge into a vegetative state and his grandmother to die.
Yet Yunjae didn’t feel anything. He only saw red during that random act of violence that changed his life.
Left to care for himself and his mother’s used bookstore at 16, he has the help of the heart surgeon turned baker on the second floor, Dr. Shim, but it’s not the same without his mother.
It’s through a strange set of circumstances, after severe bullying at high school, that Yunjae meets troubled teenager Gon, who moves to his school after reconnecting with his father.
He begins to have more perspective into human emotion, and although they start off on an awful note, this friendship is one of the most poignant and touching bonds I’ve read in literature. Two outcasts, who are polar opposites, yet discover things about the world, each other, and themselves throughout the book.
I got so attached to these two boys and their friendship. Through them, it took me through the process of relearning how to feel again.
Gon and Yunjae throughout the book come to answer the question “What makes someone human?”
It’s not emotions, and it’s not reactions or certain “redeeming” actions to others.
It’s both love and our relationships that make us human.
And not only does love make someone human, but it heals and brings us closer - This book was an affirmation that needed to be heard. I couldn’t put it down.
From one late morning to an early evening, I became completely enthralled with Yunjae’s story.
Something remarkable about this book and about its unique storyline is that in contrast to the distant narration Yunjae provides, he’s surrounded by emotionally vibrant characters. The translator’s note at the end describes how she struggled between both liberal and literal translation to craft Yunjae’s distant tone in the original Korean manuscript. The brilliant translation absorbs readers into Yunjae’s world,
Another aspect I admire about the book is its small chapters - and in Sohn’s case, less is so much more. It made the story coherent and in every chapter, its poigniacy never falters.
Toasts to the best friendship in literature since Frog and Toad - I’d give this book a hug if I could.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Violence, Death of parent